# leap

/ˈɫip/ (US) · /lˈiːp/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/leap
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. to jump

verb · CEFR B1

to jump a long way or high into the air.

For teachers: to spring through the air from one point to another by muscular effort.

- The cat had to leap over the puddle to keep its paws dry.
- The athlete managed to leap across the stream with such grace that he barely disturbed the loose gravel on the opposite bank.

Usage: Often used with prepositions like 'over', 'across', or 'into'.

### 2. a physical jump

noun · CEFR B1

the act of jumping or the distance you jump.

For teachers: the act of leaping; the space or distance covered by a single jump.

- It was a big leap from the boat to the wooden dock.
- With one powerful leap, the deer cleared the garden fence and disappeared into the dense forest.

### 3. a big change

noun · CEFR B2

a large and sudden change or improvement.

For teachers: a sudden and significant transition or advancement in status, knowledge, or progress.

- The new medicine is a huge leap forward for science.
- The transition from steam power to electricity represented a massive technological leap that redefined industrial production in the twentieth century.

Usage: Commonly found in the idiom 'a leap of faith'.

### 4. musical interval

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

a jump from one musical note to another that is much higher or lower.

For teachers: a movement from one note to another by an interval larger than a second.

- The singer struggled with the sudden leap to the high note.
- The melody is characterised by wide leaps and jagged rhythms, making it particularly challenging for the woodwind section to execute cleanly.

Usage: Used to describe melodic motion that is not stepwise.

### 5. a group of leopards

noun · CEFR C2 · Literary

the special name for a group of leopards.

For teachers: the collective noun for a group of leopards.

- We were lucky enough to spot a leap of leopards resting in the tree.
- The guide whispered that a leap of leopards had been sighted near the watering hole earlier that morning.

Teaching tip: This is a 'term of venery' or collective noun; like 'a pride of lions', it is rarely used in everyday speech.

## Examples

- The athlete took a great leap over the hurdle.
- Switching to the new software was a huge leap forward for our team's productivity.
- The discovery of the new vaccine represents a significant leap in medical science, potentially saving millions of lives over the next decade.

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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.