To leap means to jump high or far, usually with energy and effort. When you leap over a puddle, you push off powerfully with your legs and sail through the air. A basketball player leaps to catch a rebound. A dancer leaps gracefully across the stage. Animals leap too: frogs leap from lily pad to lily pad, while mountain goats leap between rocky ledges that would make most creatures nervous.

The word also describes sudden, bold movements in other contexts. When you leap into action, you start doing something quickly and decisively. A company might take a leap forward with a new invention. Scientists sometimes make what's called a leap in understanding when they suddenly connect ideas in a new way.

There's a familiar phrase worth knowing: a leap of faith means taking a risk or making a decision without knowing exactly how things will turn out. It's that moment when you trust yourself enough to try something new, like auditioning for the school play even though you're nervous, or tackling a challenging math problem you've never seen before.

The word captures both physical power and mental courage: the feeling of launching yourself into the air or into something unknown.