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
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
ArsTechnica, 27 Oct. 2025
But, after getting a little too close, the canine swiftly leapt back and kept a safe distance.
—Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
Pranjal Malewar, New Atlas, 26 Oct. 2025
Still, a player ascending from top-15 or top-10-ish status in the league to a legit MVP candidate is arguably an even more difficult, more challenging and vertiginous jump than making the leap from random scrub to solid starter.
—John Hollinger, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for leap
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Verb
Put the thing in Sport mode, and any time your right ankle twitches on the accelerator, the car absolutely leaps forward.
—ArsTechnica, 27 Oct. 2025
But, after getting a little too close, the canine swiftly leapt back and kept a safe distance.
—Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
Noun
Regular water can't make that leap.
—Pranjal Malewar, New Atlas, 26 Oct. 2025
Still, a player ascending from top-15 or top-10-ish status in the league to a legit MVP candidate is arguably an even more difficult, more challenging and vertiginous jump than making the leap from random scrub to solid starter.
—John Hollinger, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for leap
Cite this Entry
“Leap.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leap. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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