jump
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jump¹
- /d͡ʒʌmp/ US, UK
- /d͡ʒʊmp/ Northern England
Rhymes with -ʌmp
Where it comes from
From Middle English jumpen (“to walk quickly, run, jump”), probably of Middle Low German or North Germanic origin, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *gumpōną ~ *gumbōną (“to hop, skip, bounce”), an iterative verb. The OED suggests an imitative origin. Related to jumble. In the sense “to propel oneself” it displaced leap partially and spring largely.
Cognates
Cognate with German Low German jumpen (“to jump”), archaic German gumpen (“to jump, hop, bounce”), dialectal German gampen (“to hop”), Alemannic German gumpe (“to leap, jump”), Walser dialect kumpu, Old Norse gopta (“to jump; make jump”) Danish gumpe (“to jolt”), Swedish gumpa (“to jump”), Danish gimpe (“to move up and down”), Middle English jumpren, jumbren (“to mix, jumble”).
verb jumps · jumping · jumped · jump
- To propel oneself rapidly upward, downward and/or in any horizontal direction such that momentum causes the body to become airborne. The boy jumped over a fence.
- To cause oneself to leave an elevated location and fall downward. She is going to jump from the diving board.
- To pass by means of a spring or leap; to overleap. to jump a stream
-
To employ a parachute to leave an aircraft or elevated location.
Similar: skydive
- To jerk the body involuntarily in response to a sudden or unexpected stimulus. That balloon popping made me jump.
- To drop sharply downward at the sound of a bowstring release or the fire of a gun. The deer jumped the string, so the archer missed his target.
- To increase sharply, to rise, to shoot up. Share prices jumped by 10% after the company announced record profits.
- To employ a move in certain board games where one game piece is moved from one legal position to another passing over the position of another piece. The player's knight jumped the opponent's bishop.
- To move to a position (in a queue/line) that is further forward. I hate it when people jump the queue.
- To pass (a traffic light) when it is indicating that one should stop.
-
To attack suddenly and violently.
The hoodlum jumped a woman in the alley.
Similar: ambush
-
To engage in sexual intercourse with (a person).
Harold: How is Sarah? I don't want to jump her while she's on the rag.
Similar: hump
- To cause to jump. The rider jumped the horse over the fence.
- To move the distance between two opposing subjects.
- To increase the height of a tower crane by inserting a section at the base of the tower and jacking up everything above it.
- To increase speed aggressively and without warning.
- To expose to danger; to risk; to hazard. to jump a body with a dangerous physic
- To join by a buttweld.
- To thicken or enlarge by endwise blows; to upset.
- To bore with a jumper.
- To jump-start a car or other vehicle with a dead battery, as with jumper cables. [Someone] and Mr. Benfield were at the corner of Elm and Walton Streets when they were approached by Mr. Gray, who asked for help to jump his car. When informed they did not have jumper cables, Mr. Gray asked them to take him to get some.
- To coincide; to agree; to accord; to tally; followed by with. It jumps with my humour.
- To start executing code from a different location, rather than following the program counter. When this section is completed, the code generally jumps back to the Exit Section, and the procedure is closed.
-
To flee; to make one's escape.
“It's all clear,” he whispered. “Have you the chisel and the bags? Great Scott! Jump, Archie, jump, and I'll swing for it!”
Sherlock Holmes had sprung out and seized the intruder by the collar. The other dived down the hole, and I heard the sound of rending cloth as Jones clutched at his skirts.
Similar: beat it
- To shift one's position or attitude, especially suddenly and significantly. The administration is jumping back from that message.
- To switch locations on chromosomes.
- To commit suicide.
Similar: flinch, jump out of one's skin, leap out of one's skin, twitch, start, startle reflex, assail, jump someone's bones, rabbit, take off
noun jumps
- The act of jumping; a leap; a spring; a bound. To advance by jumps.
- An effort; an attempt; a venture. Our fortune lies / Upon this jump.
- A dislocation in a stratum; a fault.
- An abrupt interruption of level in a piece of brickwork or masonry.
-
An instance of propelling oneself upwards.
The boy took a skip and a jump down the lane.
Similar: leap
- An object which causes one to jump; a ramp. The skier flew off the jump and landed perfectly.
- An instance of causing oneself to fall from an elevated location. There were a couple of jumps from the bridge.
- An instance of employing a parachute to leave an aircraft or elevated location. She was terrified before the jump, but was thrilled to be skydiving.
- An instance of reacting to a sudden stimulus by jerking the body.
- A jumping move in a board game. the knight's jump in chess
- A button (of a joypad, joystick or similar device) used to make a video game character jump (propel itself upwards). Press jump to start.
- An obstacle that forms part of a showjumping course, and that the horse has to jump over cleanly. Heartless managed the scale the first jump but fell over the second.
- An early start or an advantage. He got a jump on the day because he had laid out everything the night before.
- A discontinuity in the graph of a function, where the function is continuous in a punctured interval of the discontinuity.
- An abrupt increase in the height of the surface of a flowing liquid at the location where the flow transitions from supercritical to subcritical, involving an abrupt reduction in flow speed and increase in turbulence.
- Any abrupt increase; a sudden rise; a hike. a dramatic jump in prices
- An instance of faster-than-light travel, not observable from ordinary space.
- A change of the path of execution to a different location.
- Ellipsis of jump-start My car won't start. Could you give me a jump?
- Clipping of jump cut
-
Synonym of one-night stand (“single evening's performance”).
Next jump will be at the Chicago Theater, Chicago.
Similar: one-night stand
adverb
-
Exactly; precisely.
Thus twice before, and jump at this dead hour,
With martial stalk hath he gone by our watch.
Similar: accurately, just, slap bang
adjective more jump · most jump
- Exact; matched; fitting; precise. jump names
jump²
- /d͡ʒʌmp/ US, UK
- /d͡ʒʊmp/ Northern England
Rhymes with -ʌmp
Where it comes from
Compare French jupe (“a long petticoat, a skirt”) and English jupon.
noun jumps
- A kind of loose jacket for men.
Jump³
proper noun Jumps
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: leap, skip, climb up, jumpstart, jump out, pass over, rise, spring, startle, parachuting, start, stand out, derail, alternate, bound, leap out
verb
Similar: flinch, jump out of one's skin, leap out of one's skin, twitch, start, startle reflex, assail, jump someone's bones, rabbit, take off
Translations
Every language
verb react to a sudden stimulus by jerking the body violently
| Português | sobressaltar |
|---|---|
| Français | sursauter |
| Deutsch | zucken |
| Română | tresări |
| Русский | вска́кивать vskákivatʹ, вскочи́ть vskočítʹ, подпры́гивать podprýgivatʹ, подпрыгнуть podprygnutʹ, вздра́гивать vzdrágivatʹ, вздро́гнуть vzdrógnutʹ |
| עברית | קָפַץ kafáts |
verb propel oneself rapidly upward such that momentum causes the body to become airborne — see also leap
| Español | saltar, brincar, saltimbanquear, corcovear |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 뛰다 ttwida, 점프하다 jeompeuhada |
| 日本語 | 跳ぶ tobu, ジャンプする janpu suru |
| 中文 | 跳 tiào, 蹦跳 bèngtiào, 蹦 bèng |
| हिन्दी | कूदना kūdnā, उछलना uchalnā |
| Kiswahili | kuruka |
| Português | saltar, pular |
| Français | sauter |
| Deutsch | springen, hüpfen |
| Italiano | saltare |
| Ελληνικά | πηδάω pidáo, σαλτάρω saltáro |
| Română | sări, sălta |
| Русский | пры́гать prýgatʹ, пры́гнуть prýgnutʹ, скака́ть skakátʹ, скакну́ть skaknútʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | nhảy |
| العربية | قَفَزَ qafaza |
| עברית | קָפַץ kafats |
verb cause oneself to leave an elevated location and fall downward
| Español | saltar, lanzarse |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 飛び降りる tobioriru |
| 中文 | 跳 tiào |
| हिन्दी | कूदना kūdnā |
| Português | saltar, pular |
| Français | sauter |
| Deutsch | springen |
| Italiano | saltare |
| Ελληνικά | πηδάω pidáo, σαλτάρω saltáro |
| Română | sări, sălta |
| Русский | пры́гать prýgatʹ, пры́гнуть prýgnutʹ, спры́гивать sprýgivatʹ, спры́гнуть sprýgnutʹ |
| עברית | קָפַץ kafáts |
verb employ a parachute to leave an aircraft or elevated location
| Español | saltar |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 降下！ kōka! |
| हिन्दी | छलांगना chalāṅgnā |
| Português | saltar, pular |
| Deutsch | springen |
| Italiano | saltare |
| Ελληνικά | πηδάω pidáo, σαλτάρω saltáro |
| Română | sări |
| Русский | пры́гать prýgatʹ, пры́гнуть prýgnutʹ, спрыгивать sprygivatʹ, спрыгнуть sprygnutʹ |
| עברית | קָפַץ kafáts |
verb employ a move in certain board games in which one piece moves over another
| Português | saltar, pular |
|---|---|
| Italiano | saltare |
| Română | sări (peste) |
| Русский | перепры́гивать pereprýgivatʹ, перепры́гнуть pereprýgnutʹ, перескакивать pereskakivatʹ, перескочить pereskočitʹ |
verb move to a position in (a queue/line) that is further forward
| Español | saltar |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 飛び越す tobikosu |
| Português | furar |
| Français | doubler |
| Italiano | saltare |
| עברית | קָפַץ kafáts |
verb to attack suddenly and violently
| Español | asaltar |
|---|
noun instance of propelling oneself into the air — see also leap
| Español | salto, pedicoj, brinco, corcovo, corcoveo |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 도약 doyak, 점프 jeompeu |
| 日本語 | 跳躍 chōyaku, ジャンプ janpu |
| 中文 | 跳 tiào |
| हिन्दी | कूदना kūdnā, उछलना uchalnā, छलांगना chalāṅgnā |
| Português | salto, pulo |
| Français | saut |
| Deutsch | Sprung |
| Italiano | salto |
| Ελληνικά | άλμα álma, αναπήδηση anapídisi |
| Русский | прыжо́к pryžók, скачо́к skačók |
| العربية | قَفْزَة qafza |
| עברית | קפיצה kfitsá |
noun instance of causing oneself to fall from an elevated location
| हिन्दी | कूदना kūdnā |
|---|---|
| Português | salto, pulo |
| Français | saut |
| Deutsch | Sprung |
| Italiano | salto |
| Русский | прыжо́к pryžók |
| עברית | קפיצה kfitsá |
noun instance of employing a parachute to leave an aircraft or elevated location
| हिन्दी | छलांगना chalāṅgnā |
|---|---|
| Português | salto, pulo |
| Deutsch | Sprung |
| Русский | прыжо́к pryžók |
| עברית | צניחה tsnikhá |
noun instance of reacting to a sudden stimulus by jerking the body
| Português | sobressalto |
|---|---|
| עברית | קפיצה kfitsá |
noun discontinuity of function
| עברית | קפיצה kfitsá |
|---|
Talk about this word "jump." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/jump. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. jump. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/jump "jump." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/jump.Cite this
@misc{jump_2026,
title = {jump},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/jump},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
