jump Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a sudden and decisive increase
    leap.
    • a jump in attendance
  2. noun an abrupt transition
    leap; saltation.
    • a successful leap from college to the major leagues
  3. noun (film) an abrupt transition from one scene to another
  4. noun a sudden involuntary movement
    start; startle.
    • he awoke with a start
  5. noun descent with a parachute
    parachuting.
    • he had done a lot of parachuting in the army
  6. noun the act of jumping; propelling yourself off the ground
    jumping.
    • he advanced in a series of jumps
    • the jumping was unexpected
  7. verb move forward by leaps and bounds
    spring; leap; bound.
    • The horse bounded across the meadow
    • The child leapt across the puddle
    • Can you jump over the fence?
  8. verb move or jump suddenly, as if in surprise or alarm
    start; startle.
    • She startled when I walked into the room
  9. verb make a sudden physical attack on
    • The muggers jumped the woman in the fur coat
  10. verb increase suddenly and significantly
    • Prices jumped overnight
  11. verb be highly noticeable
    jump out; stick out; leap out; stand out.
  12. verb enter eagerly into
    • He jumped into the game
  13. verb rise in rank or status
    climb up; rise.
    • Her new novel jumped high on the bestseller list
  14. verb jump down from an elevated point
    leap; jump off.
    • the parachutist didn't want to jump
    • every year, hundreds of people jump off the Golden Gate bridge
    • the widow leapt into the funeral pyre
  15. verb run off or leave the rails
    derail.
    • the train derailed because a cow was standing on the tracks
  16. verb jump from an airplane and descend with a parachute
    parachute; chute.
  17. verb cause to jump or leap
    leap.
    • the trainer jumped the tiger through the hoop
  18. verb start (a car engine whose battery is dead) by connecting it to another car's battery
    jumpstart; jump-start.
  19. verb bypass
    pass over; skip over; skip.
    • He skipped a row in the text and so the sentence was incomprehensible
  20. verb pass abruptly from one state or topic to another
    leap.
    • leap into fame
    • jump to a conclusion
    • jump from one thing to another
  21. verb go back and forth; swing back and forth between two states or conditions
    alternate.

WordNet

Jump noun
Etymology
Cf. F. jupe a long petticoat, a skirt. Cf. Juppon.
Definitions
  1. A kind of loose jacket for men.
  2. pl. A bodice worn instead of stays by women in the 18th century.
Jump intransitive verb
Etymology
Akin to OD. gumpen, dial. G. gumpen, jumpen.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Jumped ; present participle & verbal noun Jumping
Definitions
  1. To spring free from the ground by the muscular action of the feet and legs; to project one's self through the air; to spring; to bound; to leap.
    Not the worst of the three but jumps twelve foot and a half by the square. Shak.
  2. To move as if by jumping; to bounce; to jolt. "The jumping chariots." Nahum iii. 2.
    A flock of geese jump down together. Dryden.
  3. To coincide; to agree; to accord; to tally; -- followed by with. "It jumps with my humor." Shak.
Jump transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To pass by a spring or leap; to overleap; as, to jump a stream.
  2. To cause to jump; as, he jumped his horse across the ditch.
  3. To expose to danger; to risk; to hazard. Obs.
    To jump a body with a dangerous physic. Shak.
  4. (Smithwork) (a) To join by a butt weld. (b) To thicken or enlarge by endwise blows; to upset.
  5. (Quarrying) To bore with a jumper.
Jump noun
Definitions
  1. The act of jumping; a leap; a spring; a bound. "To advance by jumps." Locke.
  2. An effort; an attempt; a venture. Obs.
    Our fortune lies Upon thisjump. Shak.
  3. The space traversed by a leap.
  4. (Mining) A dislocation in a stratum; a fault.
  5. (Arch.) An abrupt interruption of level in a piece of brickwork or masonry.
Jump adjective
Definitions
  1. Nice; exact; matched; fitting; precise. Obs. "Jump names." B. Jonson.
Jump adverb
Definitions
  1. Exactly; pat.Obs. Shak.

Webster 1913