leap / lēp/ • v. (past or past part. leaped / lēpt/ or leapt / lept/ ) [intr.] jump or spring a long way, to a great height, or with great force: I leaped across the threshold fig. Fabia's heart leapt excitedly. ∎  move quickly and suddenly: Polly leapt to her feet. ∎  [tr.] jump across or over: a coyote leaped the fence. ∎  make a sudden rush to do something; act eagerly and suddenly: it was time for me to leap into action. ∎  (leap at) accept (an opportunity) eagerly: they leapt at the opportunity to combine fun with fund-raising. ∎  (of a price or figure) increase dramatically: sales leaped 40 percent during the Christmas season. ∎  (leap out) (esp. of writing) be conspicuous; stand out: amid the notes, a couple of items leap out.• n. a forceful jump or quick movement: she came downstairs in a series of flying leaps. ∎  a dramatic increase in price, amount, etc.: a leap of 75 percent in two years. ∎  a sudden, abrupt change or transition: a leap of faith. ∎  [in place names] a thing to be leaped over or from: Lover's Leap.PHRASES: a leap in the dark a daring step or enterprise whose consequences are unpredictable.by (or in) leaps and bounds with startlingly rapid progress: productivity improved in leaps and bounds.leap to the eye (or to mind) be immediately apparent: one dire question leaped to our minds.DERIVATIVES: leap·er n.

leap a leap in the dark a daring step or enterprise whose consequences are unpredictable; in Vanbrugh's The Provoked Wife (1697), one of the characters, contemplating marriage, says: ‘So, now I am in for Hobbes's voyage, a great leap in the dark.’ The allusion is to the attributed last words of the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679), ‘I am about to take my last voyage, a great leap in the dark.’
leap year a year, occurring once every four years, which has 366 days including 29 February as an intercalary day. The term, recorded from late Middle English, probably comes from the fact that feast days after February in such a year fell two days later than in the previous year, rather than one day later as in other years, and could be said to have ‘leaped’ a day.

According to tradition, a woman may propose to a man on 29 February.

See also Great Leap Forward at great, look before you leap.

leap †run, rush; jump. OE. str. vb. hlēapan = OS. -hlōpan (Du. lopen), OHG. loufan (G. laufen run), ON. hlaupa, Goth. -hlaupan :- Gmc. *χlaupan, without cogns. elsewhere.
So leap sb. OE. *hlīep, hlȳp :- *χlaupiz; Du. loop, OHG. hlouf (G. lauf), ON. hlaup, comp. leapfrog XVI. leap-year year having one day (29 February) more than the common year. XIV (but prob. much earlier than it is recorded). The term prob. refers to the fact that in the bissextile year any fixed festival falls on the next weekday but one to that on which it fell in the preceding year.

Leap

of leopards: a company of leopards—Bk. of St. Albans, 1486; of bandilleros—Lipton, 1970.

LEAP (liːp) Life Education for the Autistic Person
• lift-off elevation and azimuth programmer
• Loan and Educational Aid Programme