From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishleapleap1 /liːp/ ●●○ verb (past tense and past participle leapt /lept/ especially British English, leaped especially American English) 1 jump a) [intransitive always + adverb/preposition]JUMP to jump high into the air or to jump in order to land in a different place She leapt over the fence. The smaller animals can easily leap from tree to tree. b) [transitive] literaryJUMP to jump over something Brenda leaped the gate and ran across the field.► see thesaurus at jump2 move fast [intransitive always + adverb/preposition]FAST/QUICK to move very quickly and with a lot of energy I leapt up the stairs three at a time. He leapt out of bed. She leapt to her feet (=stood up quickly) and started shouting.3 increase [intransitive]INCREASE IN NUMBER OR AMOUNT to increase quickly and by a large amount OPP tumbleleap to Profits leapt to £376m. He leapt 27 places to second spot.4 → leap at the chance/opportunity5 → leap to somebody’s defence6 heart [intransitive] literaryHAPPYEXCITED if your heart leaps, you feel a sudden surprise, happiness, or excitement My heart leaped when I saw Paul at the airport. → look before you leap at look1(12) → leap out at somebody→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
leap• The price of gas leapt 15% overnight.• Shares leapt about 5% to $32.375.• We leapt from rock to rock, trying to synchronise the landing wobble into a launch aid.• Men, on the other hand, might leap higher, suspend themselves longer, and whirl faster.• It was leaping in stillness to receive the Light.• At one point I was forced to leap into a hip-high drift to avoid being run over by an oil truck.• But what is all that leaping into each others' arms, Peli with his legs wrapped round Jairzinho's waist?• The branch shattered in half, and the gulls crouched to leap, only to be sucked under the bow waves.• Tessa leaped onto the boat just as it was moving away from the bank.• The fish leaped out of the water.• They had leapt out, screaming murderously, but now they dropped all around us, dying and dead.• The bartender leapt over the bar and tried to stop the fight.• I leapt the fence to safety, leaving the dog snarling behind me.• He leaped through the window and was gone.• David Laing had leapt to his feet again, spraying his neighbours with cold coffee.leapt to ... feet• Laura leapt to her feet, a sign that she was about to deliver her own speech.• David Laing had leapt to his feet again, spraying his neighbours with cold coffee.• As she moved closer to him on the sofa, he leapt to his feet and began pacing the floor.• Burun leapt to his feet and charged out of the door.• Duvall lashed backwards, but Jimmy had leapt to his feet, colliding with one of the hessian screens.• He leapt to his feet, took Talbot's hand, and shook it vigorously.• She leapt to her feet with a cry which was instantly stifled by a mouthful of insects.• Gilbert uttered a strangled cry and leapt to his feet with shadow reflections of crawling rain on his spectrally white face.leapleap2 ●●○ noun [countable] 1 JUMPa big jump SYN bound He threw a stick into the river and the dog went after it in a flying leap.2 a large increase or changequantum/great/huge etc leap a quantum leap (=very great increase or change) in population levelsleap in a 16% leap in pre-tax profitsleap forward the huge leap forward that took place in the 1980s3 → by/in leaps and bounds4 → a leap of (the) imagination5 → leap in the dark6 → leap of faithExamples from the Corpus
leap• Gold shares gained following a leap in the price of gold.• Powell won with a leap of 27 feet, 10 inches.• The momentum derives not from a lulling flow or titillating suspense but from astoundingly acrobatic leaps from perch to perch.• Borrowers have been warned to expect another leap in bank interest rates.• Coffee and orange juice prices made their biggest leaps on Friday.• They will ride the surf or the bows of a vessel, constantly passing back and forth and making boisterous leaps.• I can see the Internet business growing by leaps and bounds.• Yet our conventional forces have not made an equivalent leap into the future.• It encompasses both the art of spin doctoring and also our fragile human need and ability to make huge leaps of faith.• His spirits, which had dropped at her last words, rose with an irrational leap.• In one leap, that acquisition made Northern Britain's biggest milkman, with approaching a quarter of the market.• Not the leap Halle believed it would be.• With a tremendous leap, James managed to catch the ball.quantum/great/huge etc leap• When she read the first word, J O E, her heart gave a great leap.• Then her heart gave a great leap.• The use of the sea lions is a great leap forward in whale-tracking technology, Hurley said.• Agricultural technologies have revolutionized farm production, resulting in quantum leaps in output.• He needed to walk, to run, to take great leaps into the air.• Since the Great Leap Forward of the 1950s, millions of young and unemployed people have been sent to the countryside.• The quantum leap expressed itself partly in population levels.• But Mr Glocer says that the company has dealt with great leaps in delivery before.From Longman Business Dictionaryleapleap1 /liːp/ verb (past tense and past participle leapt /lept/ especially British English, leaped especially American English) [intransitive] to increase quickly and by a large amountShares leapt about 5% to $32.375.→ See Verb tableleapleap2 noun [countable] a sudden large increase in the number or amount of somethingSales and earnings took a huge leap.leap inGold shares gained following a leap in the price of gold. → quantum leapOrigin leap1 Old English hleapan 