# jump

/ˈdʒəmp/ (US) · /dʒˈʌmp/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/jump
Updated: 2026-08-15

## Senses

### 1. to leap off the ground

verb · CEFR A1

to push yourself off the ground using your legs so that you are briefly in the air.

For teachers: to propel oneself rapidly into the air by using the muscles in the legs and feet.

- The children were excited to jump into the swimming pool on a hot day.
- The athlete managed to jump over the final hurdle with millimetres to spare, securing his place in the regional finals.

### 2. to increase suddenly

verb · CEFR B1

to go up by a large amount very quickly.

For teachers: to increase sharply or rise abruptly in value, volume, or level.

- Gas prices usually jump during the summer when more people are traveling.
- Share prices for the tech giant began to jump immediately after the CEO announced the breakthrough in quantum computing.

### 3. to react with surprise

verb · CEFR B2

to move your body suddenly because you are surprised or scared.

For teachers: to move the body involuntarily in response to a sudden or unexpected auditory or visual stimulus.

- The loud thunder made me jump while I was reading a book.
- She didn't hear him enter the office, so she gave a little jump when he finally spoke.

### 4. to attack suddenly

verb · CEFR B2 · Informal

to attack someone suddenly and without warning.

For teachers: to ambush or attack a person violently and unexpectedly.

- He was worried that someone might jump him in the dark alley.
- The protagonist was nearly jumped by a group of rivals, but he managed to escape into the crowded subway station.

### 5. to skip ahead

verb · CEFR B1

to move forward to a later part of something, skipping the middle.

For teachers: to bypass intermediate steps or move to a non-sequential point in a series or queue.

- You can jump to the last chapter if you want to know the ending.
- The programmer decided to jump the execution to the error-handling routine to prevent the system from crashing.

### 6. a leap

noun · CEFR A2

an act of pushing yourself off the ground.

For teachers: the act of propelling oneself into the air; a physical leap or bound.

- With one big jump, the cat reached the top of the fence.
- The long-distance record was broken by a jump that exceeded all previous attempts by nearly ten centimetres.

### 7. a sudden rise

noun · CEFR B1

a large and sudden increase in something.

For teachers: a sudden and significant increase in a quantity, price, or level.

- There has been a big jump in the number of people working from home.
- Economists were surprised by the sudden jump in inflation rates despite the central bank's efforts to stabilise the currency.

### 8. an obstacle

noun · CEFR B1

a fence or bar that a person or animal has to go over.

For teachers: an obstacle, such as a fence or hurdle, designed to be cleared by a horse or athlete.

- The horse cleared the final jump perfectly to win the competition.
- The course designer placed the water jump at a difficult angle to test the riders' precision and control.

## Examples

- The cat makes a big jump onto the wall.
- There was a sudden jump in the price of gas last week.
- The athlete's final jump was a masterpiece of power and precision, securing her the gold medal and a new world record.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.