lope

[ lohp ]

/ loʊp /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lope ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), loped, lop·ing.

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

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

verb (used with object), loped, lop·ing.

to cause to lope, as a horse.

noun

the act or the gait of loping.

a long, easy stride.

RELATED WORDS

gallop, trot, canter, run, bound

Nearby words

Origin of lope

1375–1425; late Middle English < Dutch lopen to run, cognate with Old English hlēapan to leap

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for loped

"I'm sure for you then, Steve," the lad called back, as he loped forward after the girl.
A Texas Ranger|William MacLeod Raine
He loped along the winding trail through the coulee's bottom and climbed the hill beyond.
The Flying U's Last Stand|B. M. Bower
Now Mike had loped silently over the frozen ground toward the direction of the timber cutting, without ever looking behind him.
Five Little Starrs in the Canadian Forest|Lillian Elizabeth Roy
He was being hoisted up the cliff when Lennon loped after Slade down-trail around a sharp bend in the cañon.
Bloom of Cactus|Robert Ames Bennet

The youth did not hear the regular beat of hoofs as Williams loped up, until the colt, stilt-legged, emitted a weak nicker.
Overland Red|Henry Herbert Knibbs

British Dictionary definitions for loped

lope

/ (ləʊp) /

verb

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

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

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

noun

a long steady gait or stride

Derived Formsloper, noun

Word Origin for lope

C15: from Old Norse hlaupa to leap; compare Middle Dutch lopen to run

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for loped

lope

"to run with long strides," early 15c.; earlier "to leap, jump, spring" (c.1300), from Old Norse hlaupa "to run, leap," from Proto-Germanic *khlaupan (see leap (v.)). Related: Loped; loping. The noun meaning "a jump, a leap" is from late 14c.; sense of "long, bounding stride" is from 1809.