- leap
- ▪ I. leap leap 1 [liːp] verb leapt PTandPP [lept] especially BrE leaped PTandPP especially AmE [intransitive]to increase quickly and by a large amount:
• Shares leapt about 5% to $32.375.
[m0] ▪ II. leap leap 2 noun [countable]a sudden large increase in the number or amount of something:• Sales and earnings took a huge leap.
leap in• Gold shares gained following a leap in the price of gold.
ˌquantum ˈleap , ˌquantum ˈjumpa very large and important improvement:• Quantum leaps in information technologies have revolutionized how people work.
* * *
Ⅰ.UK USUKleap UK /liːp/ verb [I] (leapt or leaped /lept/, leapt or leaped /lept/)► to increase, improve, or grow very quickly: exports/prices/profits leap »Property prices have leapt over 30% in the past year.
leap (to sth) »The company's shares leapt 17.5p to 210p.
Ⅱ.leap UK US /liːp/ noun [C]► a big change, increase, or improvement: a leap in costs/profits/sales »The software designer should report a near 40% leap in profits to around £124m.
a leap forward for sb/sth »This launch represents a great leap forward for the company.
a 20%/40%/75%, etc. leap »The health insurance giant reported a 20% leap in pre-tax profits for the year.
Financial and business terms. 2012.