Word.ws English Dictionary

jump

/d͡ʒʌmp/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

Northern England/d͡ʒʊmp/

jump verb: to propel oneself rapidly upward, downward and/or in any horizontal direction such that momentum causes the body to become airborne. Also the ellipsis of jump-start.

jump: to propel oneself rapidly upward, downward and/or in any horizontal direction such that momentum...
Image: Giles Laurent, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Verb

jump (third-person singular simple present jumps, present participle jumping, simple past and past participle jumped)

  1. (intransitive) 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.
    • Kangaroos are known for their ability to jump high.
    Synonyms:
    leap, spring
  2. (intransitive) To cause oneself to leave an elevated location and fall downward.
    • She is going to jump from the diving board.
    Synonyms:
    jump down, jump off
  3. (transitive) To pass by means of a spring or leap; to overleap.
    • to jump a stream
  4. (intransitive) To employ a parachute to leave an aircraft or elevated location.
    Synonyms:
    skydive
  5. (intransitive) To jerk the body involuntarily in response to a sudden or unexpected stimulus.
    • That balloon popping made me jump.
    • He jumped when he looked up to see a man standing before him.
    1. (intransitive, transitive, usually) 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.
      • The buck jumped at the shot of the rifle.
  6. (figuratively, intransitive) To increase sharply, to rise, to shoot up.
    • Share prices jumped by 10% after the company announced record profits.
  7. (intransitive) 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.
  8. (transitive) To move to a position (in a queue/line) that is further forward.
    • I hate it when people jump the queue.
    Synonyms:
    skip, cut
  9. (transitive) To pass (a traffic light) when it is indicating that one should stop.
  10. (transitive) To attack suddenly and violently.
    • The hoodlum jumped a woman in the alley.
    Synonyms:
    ambush
  11. (slang, transitive) 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.1983, The Big Chill
    Synonyms:
    hump
  12. (transitive) To cause to jump.
    • The rider jumped the horse over the fence.
Show 14 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. (transitive) To move the distance between two opposing subjects.
  2. (transitive) To increase the height of a tower crane by inserting a section at the base of the tower and jacking up everything above it.
  3. (intransitive) To increase speed aggressively and without warning.
  4. (obsolete, transitive) To expose to danger; to risk; to hazard.
    • to jump a body with a dangerous physicc. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
  5. (transitive) To join by a buttweld.
  6. To thicken or enlarge by endwise blows; to upset.
  7. To bore with a jumper.
  8. 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.2000, United States. Employees' Compensation Appeals Board, Decisions of the Employees' Compensation Appeals Board: Index digest, page 511
    • […] his wife, who was at home with their children, would drive to school to jump his car; both would drive home;[…]2015 January 30, Robert M. Morgan, Janet Turner Parish, George Deitz, Handbook on Research in Relationship Marketing, Edward Elgar Publishing, →ISBN, page 250
  9. (obsolete) To coincide; to agree; to accord; to tally; followed by with.
    • It jumps with my humour.a. 1597, William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 1, act I, scene ii
    • The fortune of the dice jumpeth not commonly with the fortune of war.1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC, page 18
  10. (intransitive) 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.2008, Garry Robinson, Real World Microsoft Access Database Protection and Security
  11. (archaic, intransitive, slang) 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.1891, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Red-Headed League
    Synonyms:
    beat it
  12. (figuratively, intransitive) To shift one's position or attitude, especially suddenly and significantly.
    • The administration is jumping back from that message.
    • Think hard before you jump towards a particular solution.
  13. (intransitive) To switch locations on chromosomes.
  14. (intransitive, slang) To commit suicide.

Noun (1)

jump (plural jumps)

  1. The act of jumping; a leap; a spring; a bound.
    • To advance by jumps.a. 1705, John Locke, “Of the Conduct of the Understanding”, in Posthumous Works of Mr. John Locke: […], London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], published 1706, →OCLC
  2. An effort; an attempt; a venture.
    • Our fortune lies / Upon this jump.c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
  3. A dislocation in a stratum; a fault.
  4. An abrupt interruption of level in a piece of brickwork or masonry.
  5. An instance of propelling oneself upwards.
    • The boy took a skip and a jump down the lane.
    Synonyms:
    leap
  6. An object which causes one to jump; a ramp.
    • The skier flew off the jump and landed perfectly.
  7. An instance of causing oneself to fall from an elevated location.
    • There were a couple of jumps from the bridge.
  8. 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.
  9. An instance of reacting to a sudden stimulus by jerking the body.
    Synonyms:
    flinch, jerk, twitch
  10. A jumping move in a board game.
    • the knight's jump in chess
  11. A button (of a joypad, joystick or similar device) used to make a video game character jump (propel itself upwards).
    • Press jump to start.
  12. 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.
Show 7 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. (with-on) An early start or an advantage.
    • He got a jump on the day because he had laid out everything the night before.
    • Their research department gave them the jump on the competition.
  2. A discontinuity in the graph of a function, where the function is continuous in a punctured interval of the discontinuity.
  3. 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.
  4. (slang) Any abrupt increase; a sudden rise; a hike
    • a dramatic jump in prices
    • the number of serious offences in England and Wales involving a knife or sharp object recorded in the year ending March 2024 was 54 percent higher – a jump of nearly 22,000 cases – than the figure for 2016.2025 November 3, Alex Kozul-Wright and News Agencies, “UK train stabbing attack – how it unfolded and what we know now”, in Aljazeera
  5. An instance of faster-than-light travel, not observable from ordinary space.
  6. A change of the path of execution to a different location.
  7. Synonym of one-night stand (“single evening's performance”).
    • Next jump will be at the Chicago Theater, Chicago.1950 December 23, Billboard, page 36
    Synonyms:
    one-night stand

Adverb

jump (not comparable)

  1. (obsolete) Exactly; precisely
    • Thus twice before, and jump at this dead hour,
      With martial stalk hath he gone by our watch.c. 1599–1601, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, act 1, scene 1, lines 64–65

Adjective

jump (comparative more jump, superlative most jump)

  1. (obsolete) Exact; matched; fitting; precise.
    • jump names1640, Ben Jonson, An Execration Upon Vulcan
    • Thus twice before, and jump at this dead hour, / With martial stalk hath he gone by our watchc. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...

Noun (2)

jump (plural jumps)

  1. A kind of loose jacket for men.

Proper noun capitalized: Jump

Jump (plural Jumps)

  1. A surname.

Also used as

jump is also the ellipsis of jump-start.

jump is also the clipping of jump cut.

jump meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

jump in Hindi

propel oneself rapidly upward such that momentum causes the body to become airborne — see also leap
कूदना kūdnā, उछलना uchalnā
cause oneself to leave an elevated location and fall downward
कूदना kūdnā
employ a parachute to leave an aircraft or elevated location
छलांगना chalāṅgnā
instance of propelling oneself into the air — see also leap
कूदना kūdnā, उछलना uchalnā, छलांगना chalāṅgnā

jump in Tamil

குதித்தல், குதிக்கவும்

jump in Marathi

उडी मारणे, उडी मारा

jump in Urdu

propel oneself rapidly upward such that momentum causes the body to become airborne — see also leap
کُودْنا kūdnā
More languagesFewer languages
jump in Bengali
লাফান laphan, ঝাঁপ দেত্তয়া jhãp dettoẏa
jump in Telugu
దూకు dūku
jump in Malayalam
പേടിച്ച് ചാടുക pēṭiccŭ cāṭuka, തുള്ളുക tuḷḷuka, ചാടുക cāṭuka
jump in Kannada
ಜಿಗಿತ, ಜಿಗಿದು, ಜಿಗಿಯಿರಿ
jump in Punjabi
ਛਾਲ ਮਾਰੋ, ਛਾਲ ਮਾਰਨਾ
jump in Gujarati
કૂદકો, કૂદકો મારવો, કૂદી જાઓ
jump in Odia
ଡେଇଁ ପଡ଼ନ୍ତି, ଡେଇଁ ପଡ଼ନ୍ତୁ, ଡେଇଁବା
jump in Sanskrit
प्रवते pravate, हठति haṭhati
jump in Assamese
জঁপিওৱা zõpiüa, জাঁপ মাৰা zãp mara, জাঁপ zãp, লাফ laph
jump in Tagalog
talon, lundag, kandag
jump in Arabic
قَفَزَ qafaza, قَفْزَة qafza
jump in Malay
melompat
jump in Indonesian
melompat
jump in Persian
پریدن paridan, جهیدن jahidan, جستن jastan, پایین پریدن pâyin paridan
jump in Thai
กระโดด grà-dòot, โดด dòot, แซง sɛɛng
jump in Vietnamese
nhảy
jump in Myanmar
ခုန် hkun

Examples of jump in a sentence

  • Not the worst of the three but jumps twelve foot and a half by the square.c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […]...
  • Parkour – often referred to as freerunning – entails creatively moving through an urban environment: flipping, jumping and vaulting across various obstacles.2022 June 16, Issy Ronald, “Meet the parkour athletes defying fear and gravity at Red Bull Art of Motion”, in CNN, archived from the...

All 40 example sentences with jump

Synonyms of jump

15 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of jump

Forms of jump

Verb
third-person singular presentjumps
present participlejumping
past participlejumped
pastjumped
second-person singular present (archaic)jumpest
second-person singular past (archaic)jumpedst
third-person singular present (archaic)jumpeth
Noun
pluraljumps
Adjective
comparativemore jump
superlativemost jump
Proper noun
pluralJumps

Past tense of jump: jumped

Plural of jump: jumps

Origin of jump

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”).

Compare French jupe (“a long petticoat, a skirt”) and English jupon.

Words formed from jump

Phrases with jump

131 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with jump

18 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about jump

What does jump mean?
Jump means to propel oneself rapidly upward, downward and/or in any horizontal direction such that momentum causes the body to become airborne.
What is jump in Hindi?
Jump in Hindi is कूदना (kūdnā), उछलना (uchalnā), छलांगना (chalāṅgnā). See Jump meaning in Hindi.
How do you use jump in a sentence?
Not the worst of the three but jumps twelve foot and a half by the square.
What part of speech is jump?
Jump can be a verb, a noun, an adverb or an adjective.
How do you pronounce jump?
Jump is pronounced /d͡ʒʌmp/.
What is the past tense of jump?
The past tense of jump is jumped.

Words near jump in the dictionary

  1. jumming
  2. Jumna
  3. Jumnapari
  4. Jumnaparis
  5. Jumo
  6. jump
  7. jump a claim
  8. jump about
  9. jump all over
  10. jump and dump
  11. jump and run

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: jump (page history and authors); Jump (page history and authors); jump (Tamil, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); jump (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); jump (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); jump (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); jump (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); jump (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-jump.wav.

Cite this entry: “jump.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/jump. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.