What Is The Past Tense Of Leap?
The past tense of “leap” is “leaped” or “leapt.” In American English, “leaped” is more common, while “leapt” is often used in British English. Both of them are considered acceptable and correct forms.
You can check out the below table to learn more about other verb forms of leap:
| Base Form/Infinitive Form (V1) | leap |
| Present Form/3rd Person/Singular Form | leaps |
| Past Simple Tense Form (V2) | leapt/ leaped |
| Past Participle Form (V3) | leapt/ leaped |
| Present Participle/Gerund | leaping |
How To Pronounce “Leapt” And “Leaped” Correctly?
“Leapt” is pronounced as /lept/. The “ea” in “leapt” is pronounced as a short “e” sound.
“Leaped” is pronounced as /liːpt/. The “ea” in “leaped” is pronounced as a long “ee” sound.
You can refer to the table below for more details:
| Verb Forms | Pronunciation | |
| British English spelling | American English language | |
| leap | /liːp/ | /liːp/ |
| leapt/ leaped
(V2) |
/lept/
/liːpt/ |
/lept/
/liːpt/ |
| leapt/ leaped
(V3) |
/lept/
/liːpt/ |
/lept/
/liːpt/ |
| leaping | /ˈliːpɪŋ/ | /ˈliːpɪŋ/ |
How to pronounce leap, leapt, and leaped correctly like English native speakers? Check out the below videos:
How to say leap:
How to say leapt:
How to say leaped:
What Are The Definitions Of Leap? How To Use Leapt And Leaped?
You can use the past tense of “leap” to talk about an event or action that happened and was completed in the past.
Below are the meanings of the irregular verb leap:
- To jump high or a long way
Example 1: Bryan Garner leaped/ leapt over the tall fence and escaped from the pursuing dog.
Example 2: The athletes leaped/ leapt during the long jump competition.
- To move, progress, or do something quickly/ suddenly
Example 1: When the fire alarm rang, everyone leaped/ leapt out of their seats and rushed towards the exit.
Example 2: The company’s stock price leaped/ leapt after they announced a breakthrough in their new product development.
- To increase suddenly and by a large amount
Example 1: The sales of the new smartphone model leaped/ leapt by 200% compared to the previous year’s figures.
Example 2: After the heavy rainfall, the river level leaped/ leapt to dangerous levels, causing flooding nearby areas.
Exercises
FAQs
What Are Some Common Idioms Of Leap?
- Somebody’s heart leaps: to describe the feeling of sudden excitement, joy, or happiness.
Example: When she heard the good news, her heart leaped/ leapt with delight, and she couldn’t stop smiling. (See the past tense of stop here)
- Leap to conclusions (that): to decide or judge somebody or something too quickly, without knowing all the relevant facts.
Example: Don’t leap to the conclusion that he’s the one who stole your phone.
What Does “Leap At” Mean?
The phrasal verb “leap at” means eagerly accepting or seizing an opportunity.
Examples:
- When Sarah was offered a job promotion, she leaped at the opportunity without hesitation.
- Many people leaped at the chance to book their dream vacations at a lower cost.
What Are Some Synonyms Of The Verb Leap?
Some common synonyms of the verb “leap” are jump, hop, bound, spring, bounce, pounce, vault, skip, and hurdle. (Click here to learn the past tense of spring)
His name is Benjamin Essek – The founder of Grammar Wiki. He is an English native speaker and has joined many English classes, learning communities to support other people with this common language as well.