Meaning & use
jump
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To push yourself off the ground with your legs and move through the air.
Grammar: Often intransitive with a preposition: jump over the fence; transitive with an obstacle: jump a fence.
Patterns
- jump over something
- jump into something
- jump off something
The children jumped over the puddle without getting their shoes wet.
He jumped off the wall and landed on the grass.
The horse jumped the last fence cleanly.
verbintransitive
To make a sudden movement because you are startled or surprised.
Grammar: No object; often followed by at: jump at a sound.
Patterns
- jump at something
- make someone jump
The sudden thunder made me jump.
She jumped when the phone buzzed in the quiet room.
verbintransitive
To rise quickly and sharply in amount, level or price.
Grammar: Often followed by from, to or by: prices jumped by ten percent.
Patterns
- jump from X to Y
- jump by an amount
Rent jumped by twenty percent last year.
The company's share price jumped after the announcement.
nouncountable
A leap off the ground, or a sudden sharp rise in a number or level.
Grammar: Often takes of or in: a jump in sales.
Patterns
- a jump in something
- a jump of an amount
Her jump was the longest of the whole competition.
There was a sharp jump in temperature overnight.
The story takes a big jump in time after chapter two.
Word forms
| third person singular | jumps |
|---|---|
| past tense | jumped |
| past participle | jumped |
| -ing form | jumping |
| plural | jumps |
Common combinations
- jump for joy
- The kids jumped for joy when they heard school was cancelled.
- jump to conclusions
- Don't jump to conclusions before you hear the whole story.
- jump the queue
- He jumped the queue and got served first.
- jump at the chance
- She jumped at the chance to study abroad.
- a sharp jump
- There was a sharp jump in food prices.
- jump in
- I'll jump in and help with the dishes.
Synonyms and how they differ
- leap
- Leap suggests a longer or more graceful jump, and is also more literary.
- hop
- Hop is a smaller jump, often on one foot or with a small step.
- spring
- Spring stresses the sudden, energetic start of a jump.
- surge
- Surge describes a rise in amount or force, and is more natural than jump for powerful flows or growth.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: jump or leap?
jump vs leap
Leap is similar but usually describes a bigger, more deliberate move. Jump is the ordinary everyday word.
Practice
Share prices ___ by eight percent after the surprise results.
Choose one answer.
Jump can mean a sudden sharp rise in a number. Fell down describes the opposite direction and is not used this way.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “jump”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.