Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - leap

~1 v past tense and past participle leapt, especially BrE leaped especially AmE 1 »JUMP« a) to jump high into the air or to jump in order to land in a different place  (Jen leapt across the stream.) b) literary to jump over something  (Brenda leaped the gate and ran across the field.) 2 »MOVE FAST« to move very quickly and with a lot of energy + up/out/into etc  (I leapt up the stairs three at a time.) leap to your feet  (Morgan leapt to his feet and started shouting. | leap to sb's assistance/defence etc)  (Wendi leaped to his assistance.) 3 »INCREASE« to increase quickly and by a large amount  (The price of gas leapt 15% overnight.) 4 leap at the chance/opportunity/offer to accept a chance, opportunity, or offer very eagerly  (They were offering a free holiday in the Algarve, so naturally I leapt at the chance.) 5 leap out at you if something you are looking at leaps out at you, it is very easy for you to notice because it is unusual or unexpected 6 »HEART« especially literary if your heart leaps, you feel a sudden surprise, happiness, or excitement  (My heart leaped when I saw Paul at the airport.)  (- see also look before you leap look1 (10)) ~2 n 1 a big jump  (Bill cleared the ditch with a single leap.) 2 by/in leaps and bounds if someone or something increases, develops, grows etc by leaps and bounds, they increase etc very quickly  (Andrew's German is improving by leaps and bounds.) 3 a sudden large increase in the number or amount of something + in  (a leap in prices) 4 a mental process that is needed to understand something difficult or see the connection between two very different ideas  (a leap of imagination)  (It takes a great leap of imagination to see John as a teacher.) 5 a leap in the dark something you do, or a risk that you take, without knowing what will happen as a result