/ ˈgæləp; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb [usually + adv. / prep. ]
1.
[ v ] when a horse or similar animal gallops , it moves very fast and each stride includes a stage when all four feet are off the ground together
—compare canter
2.
to ride a horse very fast, usually at a gallop :
[ v ]
Jo galloped across the field towards him.
[ vn ]
He galloped his horse home.
—compare canter
3.
[ v ] ( informal ) ( of a person ) to run very quickly
SYN charge :
She came galloping down the street.
■ noun
1.
[ sing. ] the fastest speed at which a horse can run, with a stage in which all four feet are off the ground together :
He rode off at a gallop .
My horse suddenly broke into a gallop .
2.
[ C ] a ride on a horse at its fastest speed :
to go for a gallop
3.
[ sing. ] an unusually fast speed
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WORD ORIGIN
early 16th cent.: from Old French galop (noun), galoper , variants of Old Northern French walop , waloper , perhaps from a Germanic phrase meaning run well, from the bases of well good and leap .