1
: to spring free from or as if from the ground : jump
leap over a fence
a fish leaps out of the water
2
a
: to pass abruptly from one state or topic to another
the difficult leap from college to the workplace
b
: to act precipitately
leaped at the chance
: to pass over by leaping
leaped the wall
1
2
a
: a sudden passage or transition
a great leap forward
b
: a choice made in an area of ultimate concern
a leap of faith
see also:
Examples of leap in a Sentence
Verb
The cat suddenly leaped into the air.
Fish were leaping out of the water.
He leaped off the bridge.
The boys leaped over the stream.
The horse leaped the stone wall.
When the alarm went off, she leapt out of bed.
Noun
She made a graceful leap into the air.
He ran and took a flying leap over the stream.
He won the high jump with a leap of six feet.
the leap from childhood to adulthood
She has shown great leaps in ability.
Technology has taken a great leap forward.
It required a leap of the imagination to picture how the project would look when it was completed.
Recent Examples on the Web
Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2026
The Diplomat, Slow Horses, and Paradise all feel like worthy nominees, but the fact that these three crowd-pleasing geopolitical conspiracy yarns have such overlap in their themes is going to keep any one of them from leaping ahead as a winner.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 2 May 2026
Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 4 May 2026
This defense is taking a big leap of faith with its coaching staff and its ability to develop players, especially at safety.
—Alec Lewis, New York Times, 4 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for leap
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Verb
Speaking of the hotel wage Unite Here isn’t the only player in the hotel wage fight to leap into this year’s council races.
—Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2026
The Diplomat, Slow Horses, and Paradise all feel like worthy nominees, but the fact that these three crowd-pleasing geopolitical conspiracy yarns have such overlap in their themes is going to keep any one of them from leaping ahead as a winner.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 2 May 2026
Noun
The defensive spark plug somehow jumped higher than any Nuggets forward did for a rebound in Minneapolis last Thursday night, chest-thumping the glass at the top of his leap.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 4 May 2026
This defense is taking a big leap of faith with its coaching staff and its ability to develop players, especially at safety.
—Alec Lewis, New York Times, 4 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for leap
Cite this Entry
“Leap.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leap. Accessed 6 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
