Leap, Hop, Spring: English Verbs of Jumping
In a recent post we started looking at more precise vocabulary for expressing different types of movement related to the very general verbs walk and run. Let’s look at other verbs of movement, this time focusing on the general concept of jump. As always, we’ll talk about both meaning and usage, with loads of examples to help you make sense.
Jump
To jump is a very common verb that can be used with people, animals, and pretty much anything else that can put itself into the air for a moment.
- The kids are jumping up and down on the bed.
- Our cat can jump from the floor onto the top of the refrigerator.
- The horse jumped over the fence.
To jump for joy is an expression that means that you’re so happy you jump into the air. To make someone jump means to scare them. To jump out of your skin also means to be very scared by something sudden and unexpected.
- We jumped for joy when we heard the good news.
- You made me jump! I didn’t see you standing there!
- Frank nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the snake.
Leap
To leap is very similar to jump, but it has a sense of reaching for something, or jumping with beauty and elegance. You can say that a horse jumps, or if you really want to convey a sense of graceful movement, say that it leaps. Leaping also conveys a sense of height or distance. So a leap is a jump that’s longer or higher than usual, and also graceful.
- The ballet dancers leapt into the air with such grace and elegance.
- When the deer saw our car, it leapt away into the forest.
- We saw dolphins leaping out of the water around our boat. It was beautiful!
- The monkey leapt from one branch to another.
Hop
To hop is to jump, but it’s usually shorter and not very high, and there’s not much of a sense of elegance. Gazelles and ballet dancers leap, but frogs hop. People can hop, too, usually children, and there’s a sense of playfulness.
- The frog hopped off the rock into the water.
- I hopped off the beach because the sand was so hot and it hurt my feet!
- The child hopped up onto the chair.
Spring
To spring is also to jump, but it conveys a quick and sudden kind of jump, for instance when you need to quickly get out of the way of something to escape danger. The expression to spring into action means to jump up and move at a moment’s notice.
- The farmer sprang out of the way of the charging bull just in time.
- The deer sprang out of the road when it saw the car coming.
- Firefighters spring into action the moment they hear the alarm.
Skip
To skip is to jump while you’re running in a playful and carefree way. Children skip when they’re happy; they take long jumping steps and move their hands back and forth. To skip (something) means to not do it, to figuratively jump over it.
- Jenny was excited about her birthday party, so she skipped all the way home.
- The kids were skipping happily around the playground.
- I skipped work today because I felt a bit sick.
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