leapfrog

1 of 2

noun

leap·​frog ˈlēp-ˌfrȯg 

-ˌfräg

: a game in which one player bends down and is vaulted over by another player

leapfrog

2 of 2

verb

leapfrogged; leapfrogging

intransitive verb

: to leap or progress in or as if in leapfrog

transitive verb

1

: to go ahead of (each other) in turn

specifically : to advance (two military units) by keeping one unit in action while moving the other unit past it to a position farther in front

2

: to evade by or as if by a bypass

Examples of leapfrog in a Sentence

Verb

Skipping his last two years of high school, he leapfrogged his classmates and went to college.

This year's technologies are leapfrogging last year's designs.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The victory sees the Ravens leapfrog the Chargers in the AFC playoff standings, with Baltimore moving up to fifth and the Bolts falling to sixth. —Ben Morse, CNN, 26 Nov. 2024

My optimism is that BCI companies will rise to the occasion and leapfrog gaps in policy rather than letting their users boil in the waters of broken health coverage. —Naveen Rao, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024

Verb

The Philadelphia Flyers, with a chance to move over .500 while leapfrogging the rival Pittsburgh Penguins for ninth place in the Eastern Conference, were dominated in the first period and weren’t able to recover, dropping a 7-3 decision on Monday at PPG Paints Arena. —Kevin Kurz, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024

Fox News Channel took advantage of the presidential election, leapfrogging Fox’s broadcast network to land at fourth. —Tony Maglio, IndieWire, 20 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1599, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1872, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Kids Definition

leapfrog

noun

leap·​frog

ˈlēp-ˌfrȯg,

-ˌfräg

: a game in which the first player bends down and another leaps over