Leapfrog is a children's game where players take turns jumping over each other's backs. One player crouches down like a frog, tucking their head low, while another player runs up, plants their hands on the first player's back, and vaults over them with legs spread wide. Then that player crouches down, and the next person leaps over both of them. The line of crouching players grows longer as each person takes their turn jumping.

The word also describes any situation where someone or something jumps ahead by skipping over others or skipping intermediate steps entirely. A company might leapfrog its competitors by inventing a completely new technology instead of making small improvements to old ones. Some developing countries leapfrogged directly to cell phones without ever building extensive landline telephone networks, just as you might skip several steps on a staircase when you're in a hurry.

When used as a verb, you can leapfrog an obstacle or leapfrog past someone in line or competition. The image is always the same: moving forward by jumping completely over something rather than going through it step by step.