gallop
/ˈɡæləp/noun, verb
gallop is spelled G-A-L-L-O-P: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,820th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, gallop means “The fastest gait of a horse, a two-beat stride during which all four legs are off the ground simultaneously” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of gallop is gallops.
How many letters and syllables are in gallop?
| Letters | 6: G-A-L-L-O-P |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.1 times per million words; the 27,820th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is gallop?
Gallop appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,820th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce gallop?
- /ˈɡæləp/
Gallop has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-gallop.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of gallop
- gallops plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- galloping participle, present
- galloped participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does gallop mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The fastest gait of a horse, a two-beat stride during which all four legs are off the ground simultaneously.
- 2
An act or instance of going or running rapidly.
- 3
An abnormal rhythm of the heart, made up of three or four sounds, like a horse's gallop.
- 4
A rhythm consisting of an 8th note followed by two 16th notes, resembling a horse's gallop.
A gallop rhythm: \drums{\repeat unfold4{wbl8wbh16 16
verb
- 1
To run at a gallop.
The horse galloped past the finishing line.
- 2
To ride at a galloping pace.
- 3
To cause to gallop.
to gallop a horse
- 4
To make electrical or other utility lines sway and/or move up and down violently, usually due to a combination of high winds and ice accrual on the lines.
- 5
To run very fast.
- 6
To go rapidly or carelessly, as in making a hasty examination.
- 7
To progress rapidly through the body.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Gallop in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | galop , galoper |
| German | Galopp , galoppieren |
| Portuguese | galope , galopar |
| Spanish | galope , galopar, galopear , hacer galopar, causar galopear |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does gallop come from?
From Middle English galopen (“to gallop”), from Old French galoper (compare modern French galoper), from Frankish *wala hlaupan (“to run well”), from *wala (“well”) + *hlaupan (“to run”), from Proto-Germanic *hlaupaną (“to run, leap, spring”), from Proto-Indo-European *klaup-, *klaub- (“to spring, stumble”). Possibly also derived from a deverbal of Frankish *walhlaup (“battle run”) from *wal (“battlefield”) from a Proto-Germanic word meaning "dead, victim, slain" from Proto-Indo-European *wel- (“death in battle, killed in battle”) + *hlaup (“course, track”) from *hlaupan (“to run”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).