Join free

gallop

English · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

gallop¹

  • /ˈɡæləp/

Sounds like Gallup

Where it comes from

From Middle English galopen (“to gallop”), from Old French galoper (compare modern French galoper), from Frankish *wala hlaupan (“to run well”), from *wala (“well”) + *hlaupan (“to run”), from Proto-Germanic *hlaupaną (“to run, leap, spring”), from Proto-Indo-European *klaup-, *klaub- (“to spring, stumble”). Possibly also derived from a deverbal of Frankish *walhlaup (“battle run”) from *wal (“battlefield”) from a Proto-Germanic word meaning "dead, victim, slain" from Proto-Indo-European *wel- (“death in battle, killed in battle”) + *hlaup (“course, track”) from *hlaupan (“to run”).

More at well, leap, valkyrie. See also the doublet wallop, coming from the same source through an Old Northern French variant.

noun gallops

  1. The fastest gait of a horse, a two-beat stride during which all four legs are off the ground simultaneously.
  2. An act or instance of going or running rapidly. Charlie and Marnie fought at brunch and then confessed their undying love for each other; Ray got promoted by his coffee-shop boss and then dumped by his croissant-purse-toting girlfriend; and Hannah, with a deadline looming, her OCD blaring, and all her friends elsewhere, desperately FaceTimed Adam
  3. An abnormal rhythm of the heart, made up of three or four sounds, like a horse's gallop.
  4. A rhythm consisting of an 8th note followed by two 16th notes, resembling a horse's gallop. A gallop rhythm: \drums{\repeat unfold4{wbl8wbh16 16

verb gallops · galloping · galloped

  1. intransitive, of a horse To run at a gallop. The horse galloped past the finishing line.
  2. intransitive To ride at a galloping pace. Gallop lively down the western hill.
  3. transitive To cause to gallop. to gallop a horse
  4. ambitransitive To make electrical or other utility lines sway and/or move up and down violently, usually due to a combination of high winds and ice accrual on the lines.
  5. intransitive To run very fast. In the 11th minute the German won possession in midfield and teed up the galloping Kieran Gibbs, whose angled shot was pushed by Kelvin Davies straight into the retreating Jos Hooiveld.
  6. figuratively, intransitive To go rapidly or carelessly, as in making a hasty examination. Such superficial ideas he may collect in galloping over it.
  7. intransitive, of an infection To progress rapidly through the body.

Gallop²

Where it comes from

English surname, variant of Gallup.

proper noun Gallops

  1. A surname.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: extend, run, trot, gallup, hurtle, race, sprint, bolt, dash, charge, thunder, scamper, canter, speed, rush, tear

Translations

Every language

noun fastest gait of a horse

Españolgalope
日本語ギャロップ gyaroppu
Portuguêsgalope
Françaisgalop
DeutschGalopp
Italianogaloppo
Românăgalop
Русскийгало́п galóp

verb to ride at a galloping pace

Españolgalopar, galopear
日本語ギャロップで駆ける gyaroppu de kakeru
中文奔騰 /奔腾 bēnténg, 馳騁 /驰骋 chíchěng
Portuguêsgalopar
Françaisgaloper
Deutschgaloppieren
Italianogaloppare
Românăgalopa
Русскийскака́ть гало́пом skakátʹ galópom, галопи́ровать galopírovatʹ
Tiếng Việtphi
עבריתדהר dahár

verb to cause to gallop

Españolhacer galopar, causar galopear

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"gallop." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/gallop. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

gallop. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/gallop

Chicago

"gallop." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/gallop.

BibTeX
@misc{gallop_2026,
  title = {gallop},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/gallop},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}