jump

JUMP/d͡ʒʌmp/

Verbjumps, jumping, jumped

Noun pluraljumps

43 meanings of jump

Practice

1
verbintransitive
To push oneself off the ground or another surface with the legs so as to move briefly through the air, whether upward, downward from a height, or over an obstacle.
Athletes jump higher when they bend their knees deeply first.
The cat jumped from the windowsill onto the top of the bookshelf.
UsageOften followed by over, into, onto or off: jump over a fence, jump into the pool.
Similarleap, spring, hop, bound, vault
Note
Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale already measures a leap in feet: one dancer "jumps twelve foot and a half by the square."
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
William Shakespeare wrote The Winter's Tale. gutenberg.org
The play describes a dancer jumping twelve and a half feet; a servant reports the feat. gutenberg.org
2
nouncountable
An act of pushing oneself off the ground or another surface into the air, including a leap down from a height.
The dancer's final jump drew gasps from the audience.
Each jump across the rooftops in the movie was performed by a stuntman.
Similarleap, bound, hop, vault, spring
Note
The general noun, with leap, spring and bound as near equivalents, also gives an old adverbial phrase. John Locke's Of the Conduct of the Understanding, from his Posthumous Works, warns that the surest way for a learner is not to "advance by jumps." The phrase describes progress in separate bounds rather than one continuous movement. Note the bare plural after by: no article, as in by steps or by degrees.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
John Locke's Of the Conduct of the Understanding appeared in his Posthumous Works. wellcomecollection.org
The historical phrase advance by jumps occurs in Locke's work. en.wikisource.org
The quoted words occur, but Locke advises learners not to advance by jumps. The introduction misleadingly removes that negative context. en.wikisource.org
3
rise sharplyverbfigurativelyintransitive
To increase sharply or suddenly; to rise by a large amount in a short time.
Unemployment jumped to nine percent during the recession.
Streaming subscriptions jump whenever a hit series premieres.
UsagePrices jump to a level or by an amount: jumped to $50, jumped by $10. The noun is a jump in prices.
Similarsoar, surge, rocket, leap, spike
Oppositeplunge, plummet, drop, fall
4
verbfigurativelyintransitive
To shift one's position or attitude abruptly and significantly, often without warning.
Commentators jump from one side of the debate to the other as the polls shift.
After the merger announcement, several analysts jumped to a far more positive outlook.
Similarswitch, shift, swing, flip
5
verbintransitive
To jerk the body involuntarily in reaction to a sudden or unexpected stimulus, such as a loud sound or sharp touch.
Everyone jumped when the fire alarm went off in the quiet office.
I still jump every time a balloon pops near me.
UsageA noise can make you jump. Jump at the chance is different: it means accept eagerly.
Similarstart (entry), flinch, jerk
6
nouncountable
A structure such as a ramp, fence, or obstacle that a person, horse, or vehicle jumps over or launches from.
The snowboarders shaped a jump near the bottom of the run.
Crews installed a forty-foot jump for the motocross finale.
Similarramp, obstacle
7
verbintransitive
To leave an aircraft or other elevated location and descend using a parachute.
Paratroopers jump in tight sequence so the unit lands close together.
After months of training, she finally jumped solo over the desert.
Similarparachute, skydive
8
attack someoneverbtransitive
To attack a person suddenly and violently, usually catching the victim off guard.
The gang jumped a rival member behind the warehouse.
Muggers often jump people who walk alone after dark.
UsageThe victim is a direct object, with no preposition: muggers jump people walking alone.
Similarattack, ambush, assault, waylay
9
cross a gapverbtransitive
To move across the distance between two opposing points or sides.
The wildfire jumped the river overnight, forcing new evacuations.
With enough voltage, electricity will jump the gap between two electrodes.
Similarcross, leap, bridge

Less common meanings

10
verbtransitive
To start a vehicle whose battery is dead by connecting power from another battery, typically using jumper cables.
He flagged down a driver willing to jump his dead battery.
The tow service jumped the van in under five minutes.
UsageThe car or battery is the object: jump a car, jump a dead battery. Jump-start is the fuller form.
Similarboost
Note
The verb is a shortened jump-start. The same shortening gives the informal noun of "give me a jump."
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
The verb jump is a shortened form of jump-start. en.wiktionary.org
The automotive noun jump is also a shortening of jump-start. en.wiktionary.org
11
head startnounwith on
An early start or a position of advantage gained by acting before others.
Studying over the summer gave her a jump on the fall semester.
The startup got the jump on larger rivals by shipping a year earlier.
UsageUsually in get a jump on or get the jump on (or with have).
Similaredge, lead, advantage
12
cut in lineverbtransitive
To move ahead of others in a line or waiting list instead of taking one's proper turn.
Several drivers jumped the line of cars waiting to merge.
Wealthy donors should not be able to jump the transplant list.
UsageCommon in jump the line, jump the queue or jump the list.
Similarskip, bypass
13
one parachute dropnouncountable
A single descent from an aircraft or elevated point made using a parachute.
The veteran skydiver's two hundredth jump took place over the Arizona desert at dawn.
Paratroopers complete several night jumps before earning their wings.
Similarskydive, drop, descent
14
run red lightverbtransitive
To go through a traffic signal that is showing red or otherwise telling drivers to stop.
A delivery van jumped the red light and nearly collided with a cyclist.
Drivers who jump red lights face heavy fines and points on their licenses.
UsageSet phrases: jump a red light, jump the lights.
Similarrun
15
verbtransitive
To cause a person, animal, or object to leap or spring.
Handlers jump the dogs through hoops during the agility round.
The stunt coordinator jumped the car over a row of barrels.
16
help from cablesnouncolloquialUSabbreviationellipsis
Short for jump-start: help starting a car with a dead battery, using cables connected to another battery.
The battery died overnight, and she had to get a jump before work.
A tow truck driver gave us a jump in the parking garage.
UsageUsually after give, get or need: give me a jump.
Note
Americans use it informally as a clipped jump-start, and its home is the stranded driver's request: "Could you give me a jump?" The verb for the act itself is starting a car with cables.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
The automotive noun jump is a shortened form of jump-start. en.wiktionary.org
17
have sexverbslangtransitive
To engage in sexual intercourse with someone; coarse slang.
After weeks of flirting, all he could think about was jumping her bones.
After three dates she still hadn't decided whether she wanted to jump him.
UsageMost often in jump someone's bones.
Similarbed, bang, screw
Note
The sudden-attack meaning uses exactly the same frame, so "he jumped her" can be read either way, and only context decides. In The Big Chill (1983) the context leaves no doubt.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
The Big Chill is a 1983 film. en.wikipedia.org
The Big Chill contains an unambiguously sexual use of jump. en.wiktionary.org
18
hop over pieceverbintransitive
To make a move in certain board games in which a piece passes over another piece's position to reach a new legal square.
Kings in checkers can jump backward as well as forward.
He jumped over my last checker and won the game.
19
a hop (checkers)nouncountable
A move in certain board games in which one piece passes over another.
A single jump in checkers captures the piece that was passed over.
The computer found a triple jump that ended the game.
20
startled movementnouncountable
An instance of jerking the body in reaction to a sudden stimulus.
He gave a visible jump when the fire alarm sounded.
Her jump at the sudden thunderclap showed how tense she was.
UsageOften give a jump: he gave a visible jump.
Similarstart (entry), flinch, jerk, twitch
21
game buttonnoun
A button on a game controller or keyboard used to make a video game character propel itself upward.
She remapped jump to the right trigger because her thumb kept slipping.
Hold jump a little longer to make the character rise higher.
22
nouncountable
A change in the path of program execution to a different location in the code.
The compiler replaced the function call with a direct jump.
Too many jumps in the code make it difficult to follow.
Similarbranch
Note
A programmer's noun for the moment execution stops running instructions in order. The instruction overwrites the program counter, so work resumes at a new address. A jump is unconditional when it always happens and conditional when it depends on a test. It is direct or indirect according to how its target address is found. The noun names the event; the matching verb names the act.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
A jump instruction changes the program counter so execution continues at the target address. intel.com
Unconditional transfers always occur when executed; conditional transfers depend on a condition. people.freebsd.org
Direct and indirect jumps differ in how their destination addresses are obtained. documentation-service.arm.com
23
go to (code)verbintransitive
To start executing code from a different location, rather than continuing with the next instruction in sequence.
When the loop finishes, execution jumps past the closing brace.
Older BASIC programs jump to numbered lines using GOTO statements.
Similarbranch
Note
Programmers speak as if the code itself moves: execution jumps to a label, jumps past a block, jumps back to where it started. The verb is intransitive, and to or back to introduces the destination. Garry Robinson's Real World Microsoft Access Database Protection and Security (2003) has code that "jumps back to the Exit Section." The countable partner is a single jump in a program.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
Garry Robinson wrote Real World Microsoft Access Database Protection and Security. link.springer.com
The publisher dates the first print publication to 11 November 2003; 2008 is the ebook publication year. link.springer.com
The quoted wording is attributed to Robinson's book. en.wiktionary.org
24
sprint awayverbintransitive
To accelerate abruptly and hard without warning, especially to break away from rivals in a race.
The sprinter jumped with two hundred meters to go, and no one could follow.
Riders who jump too early often fade before the finish line.
Similarattack, accelerate, surge
Note
A racer's word for the sudden surge. In a cycling sprint, the rider who jumps accelerates hard and without warning. It usually takes no object: riders simply jump. That keeps it apart from the ambush meaning, though both depend on surprise. In race reports it pairs naturally with timing words such as "too early" or "with two hundred meters to go."
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
In cycling, jumping means accelerating aggressively and without warning. en.wiktionary.org
Cyclists also use jump transitively: a rider can jump someone by accelerating away from them. Taking an object therefore does not distinguish the racing sense from the ambush sense. stevehoggbikefitting.com
25
film cutnounabbreviationclipping
Short for jump cut: an abrupt cut in film or video that makes the action seem to skip forward in time.
Cutting out the pause left a jump right in the middle of the interview.
The director used quick jumps to suggest the passage of time.
Note
Film editors shorten jump cut to plain jump. The term names an edit in which a continuous shot is broken and a piece removed, so the action seems to leap forward in time. Only the editing meaning travels with the short form. Jump cut's other meaning, a runner's sudden switch from moving forward to moving sideways, stays with the full phrase.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
The film noun jump is a clipping of jump cut. en.wiktionary.org
A jump cut can remove footage from a continuous shot to make the action appear to jump forward in time. en.wiktionary.org
Jump cut also names a runner's sudden change from forward to sideways movement in American football. en.wiktionary.org
26
verb
To make a tower crane taller by adding a new mast section near the bottom and raising the upper part of the crane on jacks.
27
verbobsolete
To put something in danger or at risk.
to jump a body with a dangerous physic
c. 1608, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”
28
verb
To join two pieces of metal end to end with a butt weld.
29
verb
To make a metal bar thicker or wider by hammering it on the end.
30
verb
To drill a hole in rock using a jumper, a long steel drilling bar.
31
verbobsolete
To match or agree with something, used with "with".
It jumps with my humour.
a. 1597, William Shakespeare, Henry IV
32
verbarchaic
To run away or escape.
33
verb
Of a gene or DNA segment, to move to a new position on a chromosome, either the same one or another.
34
noun
An attempt or undertaking, especially one that carries some risk.
35
noun
A break in a layer of rock where one side has shifted against the other, also called a fault.
36
noun
A sudden step up or down in the level of a course of bricks or stones.
37
noun
A point where a function's graph breaks and resumes at a different height, though the function is continuous everywhere close around that point.
38
noun
A sudden step up in water level in a stream or channel where fast, shallow flow turns into slower, deeper flow with much turbulence.
39
noun
In science fiction, a trip at more than light speed that no one in normal space can see.
40
noun
A show performed for only one night in a place, as by a touring company.
41
adverbobsolete
In precisely the right way or at precisely the right point.
Thus twice before, and jump at this dead hour, With martial stalk hath he gone by our watch.
c. 1599, William Shakespeare, Hamlet
42
adjectiveobsolete
Agreeing perfectly or fitting just right.
Thus twice before, and jump at this dead hour, / With martial stalk hath he gone by our watch
c. 1599, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”
43
noun
A loose-fitting short coat worn by men.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of jump apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

Middle English jumpen meant "to walk quickly, run, jump." It was probably taken from Middle Low German or a North Germanic language, and it ultimately goes back to Proto-Germanic *gumpōną ~ *gumbōną, meaning "to hop, skip, bounce." It may also have begun as an imitative word, and jumble is related.