/ dʒʌmp; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
MOVE OFF / TO GROUND
1.
to move quickly off the ground or away from a surface by pushing yourself with your legs and feet :
[ v ]
to jump into the air / over a wall / into the water
'Quick, jump!' he shouted.
The children were jumping up and down with excitement.
She jumped down from the chair.
The pilot jumped from the burning plane (= with a parachute ) .
[ vn ]
She has jumped 2.2 metres.
PASS OVER STH
2.
[ vn ] to pass over sth by jumping :
Can you jump that gate?
His horse fell as it jumped the last hurdle.
I jumped my horse over all the fences.
SYN leap
MOVE QUICKLY
3.
[ v + adv. / prep. ] to move quickly and suddenly :
He jumped to his feet when they called his name.
She jumped up and ran out of the room.
Do you want a ride? Jump in.
4.
[ v ] to make a sudden movement because of surprise, fear or excitement :
A loud bang made me jump.
Her heart jumped when she heard the news.
INCREASE
5.
[ v ] to rise suddenly by a large amount
SYN leap :
Prices jumped by 60% last year.
Sales jumped from $2.7 billion to $3.5 billion.
CHANGE SUDDENLY
6.
[ v ] jump (about) (from sth to sth) to change suddenly from one subject to another :
I couldn't follow the talk because he kept jumping about from one topic to another.
The story then jumps from her childhood in New York to her first visit to London.
LEAVE OUT
7.
[ vn ] to leave out sth and pass to a further point or stage :
You seem to have jumped several steps in the argument.
OF MACHINE / DEVICE
8.
[ v ] to move suddenly and unexpectedly, especially out of the correct position :
The needle jumped across the dial.
The film jumped during projection.
ATTACK
9.
jump (on) sb ( informal ) to attack sb suddenly :
[ vn ]
The thieves jumped him in a dark alleyway.
[also v ]
VEHICLE
10.
[ vn ] ( NAmE ) to get on a vehicle very quickly :
to jump a bus
11.
[ vn ] ( NAmE ) = jump-start
BE LIVELY
12.
be jumping ( informal ) to be very lively :
The bar's jumping tonight.
•
IDIOMS
- be jumping up and down
- jump down sb's throat
- jump the gun
- jump the lights
- jump out of your skin
- jump the queue
- jump the rails
- jump ship
- jump through hoops
- jump to it
—more at bandwagon , conclusion , deep adjective
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- jump at sth
SYN leap at
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- jump in
- jump on sb
- jump out at sb
■ noun
MOVEMENT
1.
an act of jumping :
a jump of over six metres
The story takes a jump back in time.
Somehow he survived the jump from the third floor of the building.
to do a parachute jump
a ski jump champion
I sat up with a jump (= quickly and suddenly) .
The negotiations took a jump forward yesterday (= they made progress) .
—see also high jump , long jump , ski jump , triple jump
BARRIER
2.
a barrier like a narrow fence that a horse or a runner has to jump over in a race or competition :
The horse fell at the last jump.
—picture at showjumping
INCREASE
3.
jump (in sth) a sudden increase in amount, price or value :
a 20 per cent jump in pre-tax profits
unusually large price jumps
•
IDIOMS
- to keep, etc. one jump ahead (of sb)
—more at high jump , running adjective
••
WORD ORIGIN
early 16th cent. (in the sense be moved or thrown with a sudden jerk ): probably imitative of the sound of feet coming into contact with the ground.