lope

American  

[lohp] / loʊp /

verb (used without object)

loped, loping

1. to move or run with bounding steps, as a quadruped, or with a long, easy stride, as a person.

2. to canter leisurely with a rather long, easy stride, as a horse.

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verb (used with object)

loped, loping

1. to cause to lope, as a horse.

noun

1. the act or the gait of loping.

2. a long, easy stride.

lope British  

/ ləʊp /

verb

1. (intr) (of a person) to move or run with a long swinging stride

2. (intr) (of four-legged animals) to run with a regular bounding movement

3. to cause (a horse) to canter with a long easy stride or (of a horse) to canter in this manner

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noun

1. a long steady gait or stride

Other Word Forms

• loper noun

Etymology

Origin of lope

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English verb lopen, loupen, laupen “to jump, leap,” from Old Norse hlaupa; leap, loup ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

But soon his sprint slows and his legs start to lope as his arms swing with less force.

From New York Times • Dec. 4, 2024

We stroll, stride, plod, traipse, amble, saunter, shuffle, tiptoe, lumber, tromp, lope, strut and swagger.

From Scientific American • Nov. 5, 2022

He sensed Akata’s easy, distance-eating lope as she moved past Red Rock.

From Slate • Jan. 30, 2021

It begins with “The 1,” a stoic look back at a fizzled romance, which moves at a lope, nudged along by ringing piano chords and one of the album’s sprightlier beats.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 24, 2020

He dropped the harness, jumped over the rail fence, and in a long lope started for me.

From "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls

Related Words

• gallop
• trot