leap

[leep] /lip/
verb (used without object), leaped or leapt, leaping.
1.
to spring through the air from one point or position to another; jump:
to leap over a ditch.
2.
to move or act quickly or suddenly:
to leap aside; She leaped at the opportunity.
3.
to pass, come, rise, etc., as if with a jump:
to leap to a conclusion; an idea that immediately leaped to mind.
verb (used with object), leaped or leapt, leaping.
4.
to jump over:
to leap a fence.
5.
to pass over as if by a jump.
6.
to cause to leap:
to leap a horse.
noun
7.
a spring, jump, or bound; a light, springing movement.
8.
the distance covered in a leap; distance jumped.
9.
a place leaped or to be leaped over or from.
10.
a sudden or abrupt transition:
a successful leap from piano class to concert hall.
11.
a sudden and decisive increase:
a leap in the company's profits.
Idioms
12.
by leaps and bounds, very rapidly:
We are progressing by leaps and bounds.
13.
leap in the dark, an action of which the consequences are unknown:
The experiment was a leap in the dark.
14.
leap of faith, an act or instance of accepting or trusting in something that cannot readily be seen or proved.
Origin
before 900; Middle English lepen, Old English hlēapan to leap, run; cognate with German laufen, Old Norse hlaupa, Gothic hlaupan
Related forms
leaper, noun
Synonyms
1. bound. See jump.
British Dictionary definitions for leap in the dark

leap

/liːp/
verb leaps, leaping, leapt, leaped
1.
(intransitive) to jump suddenly from one place to another
2.
(intransitive) often foll by at. to move or react quickly
3.
(transitive) to jump over
4.
to come into prominence rapidly: the thought leapt into his mind
5.
(transitive) to cause (an animal, esp a horse) to jump a barrier
noun
6.
the act of jumping
7.
a spot from which a leap was or may be made
8.
the distance of a leap
9.
an abrupt change or increase
10.
(music) Also called (US and Canadian) skip. a relatively large melodic interval, esp in a solo part
11.
a leap in the dark, an action performed without knowledge of the consequences
12.
by leaps and bounds, with unexpectedly rapid progress
Derived Forms
leaper, noun
Word Origin
Old English hlēapan; related to Gothic hlaupan, German laufen
Word Origin and History for leap in the dark

leap

v.

c.1200, from Old English hleapan "to jump, run, leap" (class VII strong verb; past tense hleop, past participle hleapen), from Proto-Germanic *khlaupan (cf. Old Saxon hlopan, Old Norse hlaupa, Old Frisian hlapa, Dutch lopen, Old High German hlouffan, German laufen "to run," Gothic us-hlaupan "to jump up"), of uncertain origin, with no known cognates beyond Germanic. Leap-frog, the children's game, is attested by that name from 1590s; figurative use by 1704.

First loke and aftirward lepe [proverb recorded from mid-15c.]
Related: Leaped; leaping.

n.

c.1200, from Old English hliep, hlyp (West Saxon), *hlep (Mercian, Northumbrian) "a leap, bound, spring, sudden movement; thing to leap from;" common Germanic (cf. Old Frisian hlep, Dutch loop, Old High German hlouf, German lauf); from the root of leap (v.). Leaps has been paired with bounds since at least 1720.

Idioms and Phrases with leap in the dark

leap in the dark

An act whose results cannot be predicted. For example, Given today's high divorce rate, he considered marriage a leap in the dark. [ Late 1600s ]

leap

also see:
also see under:
jump