I. ˈjəmp verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: probably akin to Swedish gumpa to jump, Low German gumpen
intransitive verb
1.
a.
(1) : to move or throw itself into or through the air
a pretty stream jumping and twisting down to sea
: rear
the light jumped up — Guy McCrone
(2) : to rise and fall agitatedly or abruptly
the formerly placid waters were … jumping — Francis Birtles
the snow jumped in tiny cloud puffs — Victor Canning
b.
(1) : to spring free from the ground or some other environing medium by the muscular action of the feet and legs or in some animals the tail : project oneself through the air : spring , leap , hop
a trout will jump several feet — John Burroughs
jumped on a moving bus
jumped out of bed
jumped down from the tree
also : to rise to one's feet with a bound or other energetic movement
jumped up and vigorously protested the chairman's action
(2) : to make a sudden spasmodic movement as a result of surprise or other nervous shock : start
jumped at his unexpected entry
(3) in board games : to move over a position occupied by an opponent's man to a vacant one beyond and capture the man (as in checkers) or to so move merely to facilitate progress to one's goal (as in Chinese checkers)
(4) : to pass over a regular or proper stopping point : skip
this typewriter jumps and needs repairing
(5) of a published item : to continue from one column or page to another
(6) : to undergo a vertical or lateral displacement owing to improper alignment of the film on a projector mechanism
images jump on the screen
(7) : to drop from an airborne airplane with a parachute
(8) : to commence or launch upon a drive, march, expedition, or other enterprise : start out : begin — used with off
the campaign jumped off to a good start
jumped off for the distant mining country
specifically : to start forward in a military attack
at 11:01 a.m. the assault companies jumped off — P.W.Thompson
the attack jumped off in good weather — Military Engineer
(9) : to move, obey, or act with energy or alacrity : hustle
when he spoke he expected people to jump — T.O.Thoman
said he wanted them to jump to it — Earle Birney
the first thing the new bureaucrat learns is this: when the phone rings — jump — Newsweek
2. : coincide , agree , accord — usually used with with
it jumps with my humor — Shakespeare
that choice jumps with the spirit of the age — J.C.Powys
3.
a.
(1) : to pass or move haphazardly or aimlessly from one thing or state to another : shift abruptly
the author jumps from region to region — Geographical Journal
jumping from job to job — Albert Deutsch
(2) : to change or abandon employment especially in violation of contract
jumped to the Mexican League … and drew a five-year ban — Springfield (Massachusetts) Daily News
jumped without notice — Fred Bradna & Hartzell Spence
(3) : to rise or climb abruptly from one rank, status, or condition to another often with omission of intermediate stages
jumped rapidly from captain through all the grades to colonel — H.H.Arnold & I.C.Eaker
jumped from the Stone Age to the Iron Age without any intervening copper or bronze culture period — R.W.Murray
(4) : to increase suddenly and sharply
recruiting began to jump that very evening — W.G.Shepherd
population is jumping — W.A.Bridges
(5) : to make a jump bid in bridge
b.
(1) : to make a judgment precipitately or without careful study of one's premises : make a mental leap
inclined to jump from some general observation to the first possible solution — W.J.Reilly
before you jump to that happy but unwarranted assumption — S.L.Payne
no impressionist who jumps hastily to conclusions — C.I.Glicksberg
(2) : to accept eagerly : take quick or immediate advantage — usually used with at
jumped at the job
jumped at the chance
(3) : to join, enter, or intervene with eagerness or alacrity — usually used with in or into
as unhealthy as if … the military jumped in, in the recognition that a literate and educated population was important for the quality of future draftees — R.L.Meier & Eugene Rabinowitch
jumped into this … business on twenty-four hour notice — F.D.Roosevelt
and in such phrases as jump aboard
finally jumped aboard bolshevism — A.M.Rosenthal
and jump on the bandwagon
exhibiting a desire to jump on the bandwagon — M.F.A.Montagu
4.
a. : to attack suddenly or without warning : pounce — often used with on or upon
jumped upon them without reason — Pasadena (Calif.) Independent
b. : to give a tongue-lashing : level severe criticism or censure
jumped all over me for it
— often used with on or upon
people who jump on modern poetry as obscure — Time
or in the phrase jump down one's throat
whenever I opened my mouth he jumps down my throat — W.S.Gilbert
5.
a. : swing
the jazz they do blow is interesting and jumps — Metronome Yearbook
whole thing jumps splendidly — Jazz Journal
b. : to be very lively : bustle with gaiety or activity
the joint was really jumping with kids — Maritta Wolff
the town was jumping — Springfield (Massachusetts) Daily News
the place is beginning to jump already — Chandler Brossard
Saturday night jumped — Langston Hughes
transitive verb
1.
a.
(1) : to pass over or across (a space or object) by or as if by a spring or leap : clear
jump a brook
jump a hurdle
took eight years before field trials jumped the Atlantic — W.F.Brown b. 1903
often jump the border again the same day — New York Times
(2) obsolete : to expose to danger : risk , hazard
jump a body with dangerous physic — Shakespeare
b. in board games : to move over (a man) by jumping
c.
(1) : to skip over or pass by : bypass
the transmission of certain characteristics may jump one or more … generations — Henry Wynmalen
jump electrical connections
(2) : to continue (as a newspaper story or article) from one column or page to another
(3) : anticipate
jump the green light
jump the gun
d.
(1) : to escape or run away from
couldn't jump his color — Thurston Scott
(2) : to abandon or leave especially hastily or furtively
jump town without paying their bills — Hamilton Basso
jumped their reservation and were on the warpath — P.A.Rollins
(3) : to leave (employment) especially in violation of contract or other obligation : breach (a labor contract) by leaving or taking other employment
draft-age men jumping essential war jobs — Newsweek
wanted to jump the show — Fred Bradna & Hartzell Spence
jumped ship and settled in the United States — David Dodge
jumped their indentures and bobbed up as journeymen in distant cities — Newsweek
jump contract when tempted by more money — Harriot B. Barbour
(4) : to turn off from (one's normal or appointed track or course)
streams that jumped their beds in the flood — Springfield (Massachusetts) Union
a train jumped the track
(5) : to get aboard typically by jumping
jumped a freight and rode it to town
jump a crowded bus — W.J.Finn
2.
a.
(1) : to attack suddenly or unexpectedly : pounce upon
thought he was snooping around and jumped him — Lillian Hellman
intended to jump him, sitting or no — Shelby Foote
suddenly jumped by an enemy patrol party — Ed Cunningham
specifically : to attack (a target) suddenly with military aircraft
(2) : to scold or criticize severely : assail verbally : bawl out
that she would never do … unless she were jumped into it — F.M.Ford
— often used with out
jumped the little foreman out — Ross Santee
went down to jump the inspector out — F.B.Gipson
b. : to seize or take possession of in violation of another's rights : occupy illegally
jump another man's claim
jumping an assignment for the first time in his life — Michael Foster
c. : to have coitus with — usually considered vulgar
3.
a.
(1) : to cause to jump
the wind can jump those flames one mile or five — Stirling Silliphant
it jumps me out of bed — J.W.Noble
had to jump her from the stiles — Jane Austen
(2) : to cause (game) to break cover : start , flush
jumped a mule deer — D.C.Peattie
(3) : to come upon suddenly
jumped the trail and took cover — H.L.Davis
b.
(1) : to elevate in rank especially by skipping intermediate ranks
one of many junior officers jumped several ranks to fill the void — Newsweek
jumped him from instructor to full professor in two years — Time
(2) : to raise (a bridge partner's bid) by more than one rank
(3) : to increase especially swiftly or sharply
jumped admission prices from fifty cents to a dollar — F.B.Gipson
4. : to bore with a jumper (as in quarrying)
Synonyms:
jump , leap , spring , bound , vault , and saltate mean, in common, to project oneself upward or through space by or as if by quick muscle action. jump , the most general, implies a muscular propelling, or any action resembling a muscular propelling, of the body upward or to a spot other than the one one is in, whether upward, on a level, or below one, or over some obstacle
jump with fright
jump three feet across a brook
jump up onto a platform
jump down from the truck
jump over a wall
leap , often interchangeable with jump , generally suggests a much greater muscular propulsion or a more spectacular result
leap a high fence
leap down from a platform
go leaping across a field
spring adds to jump or leap the idea of elasticity, lightness, or grace, stressing more the movement than the going to or over
spring up into the air
spring out of a cage
a deer springing across the open field
bound , like spring , emphasizes the movement but suggests vigor or strength and, often, a consequent forceful speed achieved by fast successive leaps forward
a herd of antelope bounding gracefully across the plain
the speaker, a large vigorous man, came bounding down the aisle and up onto the stage
vault suggests a leap upward or over something with the aid of the hands laid on an object or with similar assistance
rose to his feet … grabbed the sturdy milking stool by one leg, vaulted the fence, and plunged into the woods — C.G.D.Roberts
an acrobat … was vaulting over chair backs — Margaret Deland
saltate implies a jumping or leaping from place to place as in certain ballet movements
•
- jump bail
- jump over the broomstick
- jump rope
- jump the queue
- jump the traces
II. adverb
obsolete : exactly , pat
III. ˈjəmp noun
( -s )
1.
a.
(1) : an act of jumping : leap , spring , bound
cleared the fence with a running jump
(2) : any of several sports competitions featuring a leap, spring, or bound — see broad jump , high jump
(3) : a space cleared or traversed by a leap
(4) : an obstacle to be jumped over (as on the course of a steeplechase) simulating natural obstructions met in fox hunting and of varied construction, dimensions, and number
b.
(1) : a sudden spasmodic movement (as from surprise or other nervous shock) : start , twitch
gave a jump as she entered the room
(2) jumps plural : fidgets, willies , nervousness
this place fairly gives me the jumps — G.K.Chesterton
just got the jumps, I guess — Gore Vidal
c. in board games : a move made by jumping
d. : a descent by parachute from an airplane
e. : an act of coitus — usu considered vulgar
2. obsolete
a. : a critical point or crisis
b. : venture , hazard
3.
a.
(1) : a movement made by the tube of a gun before a fired projectile leaves the muzzle
(2) : a vertical deviation of the path of the trajectory from the line of elevation
b. : an abrupt interruption of level in a piece of brickwork or masonry
c.
(1) : bore IV
(2) : breaker 3a
d.
(1) : a sharp or sudden increase
the jump in the size of the entering freshman class — J.K.Folger
(2) : jump bid
(3) : a sudden change : a qualitative or quantitative leap : an abrupt transition
social progress proceeds by jumps
the jump from the liquid to the gaseous state
(4) : the continuation of a published item (as a newspaper story or article) from one column or page to another ; also : the portion of a published item comprising such a continuation — compare breakover
e.
(1) : a quick or short journey especially by air : hop
reluctant to start a new round of … plane jumps — Newsweek
a convenient one-night jump from either St. Louis or Memphis — American Guide Series: Arkansas
(2) : one in a series of moves from one place to another
usually going farther west at each jump — Dixon Wecter
kept one jump ahead of the sheriff
4. : an advantage especially in time : start — usually used in the phrase get the jump
might get the jump on the United States in the development of nuclear power — New York Times
desirous of getting the jump on the competition — Elmer Davis
Synonyms:
jump , leap , spring , bound , and vault signify a single movement achieved by the corresponding action signified by the verb. saltation may indicate a sequence or group of such actions
Synonym: see in addition jump I.
•
- on the jump
IV. adjective
Etymology: probably from jump (II)
1. obsolete : exact , fitting , precise
2. : constituting a jump bid in bridge
jump response
3. : swing
a jump band
V. ˈju̇mp, ˈjəmp noun
( -s )
Etymology: probably alteration of jupe
1. dialect Britain : a loose jacket for men
2. dialect Britain : an underbodice worn usually instead of stays by women — usually used in plural
VI. intransitive verb
: to go from one sequence of instructions in a computer program to another
jump to a subroutine
•
- jump ship
VII. noun
1. : a transfer from one sequence of instructions in a computer program to a different sequence
conditional jump
2. : jazz music with a fast tempo