leap
[ˈlɪi̯p]verb, noun, adjective
leap is spelled L-E-A-P: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 8.7 times per million words in written English, the 7,797th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, leap means “To jump” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in leap?
| Letters | 4: L-E-A-P |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 8.7 times per million words; the 7,797th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is leap?
Leap appears 8.7 times per million words in written English, the 7,797th 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 leap?
- /ˈliːp/
- UK [ˈlɪi̯p]
- /ˈlɛp/
Leap has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-leap.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with leap?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as leap.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: pale, plea, peal.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of leap
- leaps present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- leaping participle, present
- leaped past, participle
- leapt past, participle
- leep
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does leap mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To jump.
Th’ infernal monarch rear’d his horrid head, Leapt from his throne, lest Neptune’s arm should lay His dark dominions open to the day.
- 2
To pass over by a leap or jump.
to leap a wall or a ditch
- 3
archaicTo copulate with (a female beast)
- 4
archaicTo copulate with (a human)
- 5
To cause to leap.
to leap a horse across a ditch
noun
- 1
The act of leaping or jumping.
He made a leap across the river.
- 2
The distance traversed by a leap or jump.
- 3
A group of leopards.
- 4
A significant move forward.
- 5
A large step in reasoning, often one that is not justified by the facts.
It's quite a leap to claim that those cloud formations are evidence of UFOs.
- 6
A fault.
- 7
Copulation (by a male animal) with a female one.
- 8
A passing from one note to another by an interval, especially by a long one, or by one including several other intermediate intervals.
- 9
A trap or snare for fish, made from twigs; a weely.
- 10
Half a bushel.
adjective
- 1
Intercalary, bissextile.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Leap in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sauter, bondir , saut, bond , bissextile |
| German | springen, einen Satz machen, hüpfen , Sprung, Satz , bespringen |
| Portuguese | saltar , salto |
| Spanish | saltar, brincar , salto, brinco , bisiesto |
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 leap come from?
From Middle English lepen, from Old English hlēapan, from Proto-West Germanic *hlaupan, from Proto-Germanic *hlaupaną. Doublet of lope, lowp, elope, gallop, galop, interlope, and loop.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).