Leap vs. Spring: What's the Difference?
By Aimie Carlson & Harlon Moss || Updated on May 30, 2024
"Leap" means to jump high or long distances, while "spring" means to move suddenly and quickly, often with a bouncing motion.
Key Differences
"Leap" involves jumping high or covering a considerable distance in one motion. It suggests a significant, forceful jump, often involving both height and distance. For example, "The athlete leaped over the hurdle," emphasizes the height and effort involved in the jump. "Spring," on the other hand, refers to a sudden, quick movement, often involving a bounce or recoil. It implies a rapid, energetic action. For instance, "The cat sprang onto the table," highlights the quick, bouncy nature of the movement.
"Leap" often conveys the idea of overcoming obstacles or making significant progress in one big motion. For example, "He took a leap of faith," metaphorically describes making a significant, bold decision. "Spring" conveys energy and speed, often with an element of surprise or spontaneity. It can describe both physical actions and metaphorical concepts, like a sudden idea or burst of energy. For example, "She sprang into action," indicates a quick, energetic response.
While "leap" focuses on the distance and force of the jump, "spring" emphasizes the speed and suddenness of the movement. Both terms can be used metaphorically, but their nuances differ significantly in both physical and figurative contexts.
Comparison Chart
Primary Meaning
Jump high or long distances
Move suddenly and quickly
Connotation
Significant, forceful jump
Quick, bouncing motion
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Common Usage
Physical jumps, overcoming obstacles
Sudden movements, energetic actions
Metaphorical Use
Bold decisions, significant actions
Quick reactions, sudden ideas
Example Sentence
"He leaped over the fence."
"She sprang up from her seat."
Leap and Spring Definitions
Leap
To move or act quickly or suddenly.
She leaped at the opportunity to travel.
Spring
To move upward or forward in a single quick motion.
The athlete sprang from the starting block.
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Leap
To make a large or important change.
He took a leap of faith and changed careers.
Spring
To jump or leap with force.
The cat sprang onto the counter.
Leap
To propel oneself quickly upward or a long way; spring or jump
The goat leaped over the wall. The salmon leapt across the barrier.
Spring
To cause to move suddenly and quickly.
The box sprang open when she touched it.
Leap
To move quickly or suddenly
Leaped out of his chair to answer the door.
Spring
To move upward or forward in a single quick motion or a series of such motions; leap
The goat sprang over the log.
Leap
To change quickly or abruptly from one condition or subject to another
Always leaping to conclusions.
Spring
To move suddenly, especially because of being resilient or moved by a spring
I let the branch spring forward. The door sprang shut.
Leap
To act quickly or impulsively
Leaped at the opportunity to travel.
Spring
To start doing something suddenly
The firefighters sprang into action.
Leap
To enter eagerly into an activity; plunge
Leapt into the project with both feet.
Spring
To appear or come into being quickly
New businesses are springing up rapidly.
Leap
To propel oneself over
I couldn't leap the brook.
Spring
To issue or emerge suddenly
A cry sprang from her lips. A thought springs to mind.
Leap
To cause to leap
She leapt her horse over the hurdle.
Spring
To arise from a source; develop
Their frustration springs from a misunderstanding.
Leap
The act of leaping; a jump.
Spring
(intransitive) To burst forth.
Leap
A place jumped over or from.
Spring
(of liquids) To gush, to flow suddenly and violently.
The boat sprang a leak and began to sink.
Leap
The distance cleared in a leap.
Spring
To gush, to flow out of the ground.
Leap
An abrupt or precipitous passage, shift, or transition
A leap from rags to riches.
Spring
(of light) To appear, to dawn.
Leap
(intransitive) To jump.
Spring
(of plants) To sprout, to grow,
Leap
(transitive) To pass over by a leap or jump.
To leap a wall or a ditch
Spring
(now chiefly botanical) To grow taller or longer.
Leap
To copulate with (a female beast)
Spring
To rise from cover.
Leap
To copulate with (a human)
Spring
(of landscape) To come dramatically into view.
Leap
(transitive) To cause to leap.
To leap a horse across a ditch
Spring
(figurative) to arise, to come into existence.
Hope springs eternal.
He hit the gas and the car sprang to life.
Leap
The act of leaping or jumping.
He made a leap across the river.
Spring
To move with great speed and energy; to leap, to jump; to dart, to sprint; of people: to rise rapidly from a seat, bed, etc.
Deer spring with their hind legs, using their front hooves to steady themselves.
He sprang to his feet.
A bow, when bent, springs back by its elastic power.
Don't worry. She'll spring back to her cheerful old self in no time.
It was the first thing that sprang to mind.
She sprang to her husband's defense and clocked the protestor.
Leap
The distance traversed by a leap or jump.
Spring
(usually with from) To be born, descend, or originate from
He sprang from peasant stock.
Leap
A group of leopards.
Spring
To descend or originate from.
The Stoics sprang from the Cynics.
Leap
(figuratively) A significant move forward.
Spring
(obsolete) To rise in social position or military rank, to be promoted.
Leap
(figuratively) A large step in reasoning, often one that is not justified by the facts.
It's quite a leap to claim that those cloud formations are evidence of UFOs.
Spring
To become known, to spread.
Leap
(mining) A fault.
Spring
To emit, to spread.
Leap
Copulation with, or coverture of, a female beast.
Spring
To grow.
Leap
(music) A passing from one note to another by an interval, especially by a long one, or by one including several other intermediate intervals.
Spring
(transitive) To cause to burst forth.
Leap
A salmon ladder.
Spring
To cause to well up or flow out of the ground.
Leap
A trap or snare for fish, made from twigs; a weely.
Spring
To bring forth.
Leap
Half a bushel.
Spring
To cause to become known, to tell of.
Leap
(calendar) Intercalary, bissextile.
Spring
To cause to move energetically; (equestrianism) to cause to gallop, to spur.
Leap
A basket.
Spring
To cause to rise from cover.
His dogs sprang the grouse and partridges and flushed the woodcock.
Leap
A weel or wicker trap for fish.
Spring
To shift quickly from one designated position to another.
Leap
The act of leaping, or the space passed by leaping; a jump; a spring; a bound.
Wickedness comes on by degrees, . . . and sudden leaps from one extreme to another are unnatural.
Changes of tone may proceed either by leaps or glides.
Spring
To breed with, to impregnate.
Leap
Copulation with, or coverture of, a female beast.
Spring
(of mechanisms) To cause to work or open by sudden application of pressure.
He sprang the trap.
Leap
A fault.
Spring
To make wet, to moisten.
Leap
A passing from one note to another by an interval, especially by a long one, or by one including several other and intermediate intervals.
Spring
To rise suddenly, (of tears) to well up.
The documentary made tears spring to their eyes.
Leap
To spring clear of the ground, with the feet; to jump; to vault; as, a man leaps over a fence, or leaps upon a horse.
Leap in with me into this angry flood.
Spring
To burst into pieces, to explode, to shatter.
Leap
To spring or move suddenly, as by a jump or by jumps; to bound; to move swiftly. Also Fig.
My heart leaps up when I beholdA rainbow in the sky.
Spring
To go off.
Leap
To pass over by a leap or jump; as, to leap a wall, or a ditch.
Spring
To cause to explode, to set off, to detonate.
Leap
To copulate with (a female beast); to cover.
Spring
To crack.
Leap
To cause to leap; as, to leap a horse across a ditch.
Spring
To have something crack.
Leap
A light springing movement upwards or forwards
Spring
To cause to crack.
Leap
An abrupt transition;
A successful leap from college to the major leagues
Spring
To surprise by sudden or deft action.
Leap
A sudden and decisive increase;
A jump in attendance
Spring
To come upon and flush out
Leap
The distance leaped (or to be leaped);
A leap of 10 feet
Spring
To catch in an illegal act or compromising position.
Leap
Move forward by leaps and bounds;
The horse bounded across the meadow
The child leapt across the puddle
Can you jump over the fence?
Spring
(obsolete) To begin something.
Leap
Pass abruptly from one state or topic to another;
Leap into fame
Jump to a conclusion
Spring
(obsolete) To produce, provide, or place an item unexpectedly.
Leap
Cause to jump or leap;
The trainer jumped the tiger through the hoop
Spring
To put bad money into circulation.
Leap
To jump high or far.
The frog leaped from one lily pad to another.
Spring
To tell, to share.
Leap
To jump over something.
The horse leaped over the barrier.
Spring
(of news, surprises) To announce unexpectedly, to reveal.
Sorry to spring it on you like this but I've been offered another job.
Leap
To increase dramatically.
Profits leaped by 20% last quarter.
Spring
To free from imprisonment, especially by facilitating an illegal escape.
His lieutenants hired a team of miners to help spring him.
Spring
To be free of imprisonment, especially by illegal escape.
Spring
To build, to form the initial curve of.
They sprung an arch over the lintel.
Spring
To extend, to curve.
The arches spring from the front posts.
Spring
To turn a vessel using a spring attached to its anchor cable.
Spring
To raise a vessel's sheer.
Spring
To raise a last's toe.
Spring
(transitive) To pay or spend a certain sum, to cough up.
Spring
To raise an offered price.
Spring
To act as a spring: to strongly rebound.
Spring
To equip with springs, especially to equip with a suspension.
Spring
To provide spring or elasticity
Spring
To inspire, to motivate.
Spring
(ambitransitive) To deform owing to excessive pressure, to become warped; to intentionally deform in order to position and then straighten in place.
A piece of timber sometimes springs in seasoning.
He sprang in the slat.
Spring
To reach maturity, to be fully grown.
Spring
To swell with milk or pregnancy.
Spring
To sound, to play.
Spring
(intransitive) To spend the springtime somewhere
Spring
(of animals) to find or get enough food during springtime.
Spring
(countable) An act of springing: a leap, a jump.
Spring
(countable) The season of the year in temperate regions in which plants spring from the ground and into bloom and dormant animals spring to life.
Spring is the time of the year most species reproduce.
You can visit me in the spring, when the weather is bearable.
Spring
(astronomy) The period from the moment of vernal equinox (around March 21 in the Northern Hemisphere) to the moment of the summer solstice (around June 21); the equivalent periods reckoned in other cultures and calendars.
Spring Festival" throughout East Asia because it is reckoned as the beginning of their spring.
Spring
(meteorology) The three months of March, April, and May in the Northern Hemisphere and September, October, and November in the Southern Hemisphere.
I spent my spring holidays in Morocco.
The spring issue will be out next week.
Spring
The time of something's growth; the early stages of some process.
Spring
A period of political liberalization and democratization
Arab Spring
Spring
Someone with ivory or peach skin tone and eyes and hair that are not extremely dark, seen as best suited to certain colors of clothing.
Spring
(countable) Something which springs, springs forth, springs up, or springs back, particularly
Spring
(geology) A spray or body of water springing from the ground.
This beer was brewed with pure spring water.
Spring
The rising of the sea at high tide.
Spring
(oceanography) nodot=a, the especially high tide shortly after full and new moons.
Neap tide
Spring
A mechanical device made of flexible or coiled material that exerts force and attempts to spring back when bent, compressed, or stretched.
We jumped so hard the bed springs broke.
Spring
(nautical) A line from a vessel's end or side to its anchor cable used to diminish or control its movement.
Spring
(nautical) A line laid out from a vessel's end to the opposite end of an adjacent vessel or mooring to diminish or control its movement.
You should put a couple of springs onto the jetty to stop the boat moving so much.
Spring
(figurative) A race, a lineage.
Spring
(figurative) A youth.
Spring
A shoot, a young tree.
Spring
A grove of trees; a forest.
Spring
An erection of the penis. en
Spring
A crack which has sprung up in a mast, spar, or (rare) a plank or seam.
Spring
(uncountable) Springiness: an attribute or quality of springing, springing up, or springing back, particularly
Spring
Elasticity: the property of a body springing back to its original form after compression, stretching, etc.
The spring of a bow
Spring
Elastic energy, power, or force.
Spring
(countable) The source from which an action or supply of something springs.
Spring
(countable) Something which causes others or another to spring forth or spring into action, particularly
Spring
A cause, a motive, etc.
Spring
(obsolete) A lively piece of music.
Spring
To leap; to bound; to jump.
The mountain stag that springsFrom height to height, and bounds along the plains.
Spring
To issue with speed and violence; to move with activity; to dart; to shoot.
And sudden lightSprung through the vaulted roof.
Spring
To start or rise suddenly, as from a covert.
Watchful as fowlers when their game will spring.
Spring
To fly back; as, a bow, when bent, springs back by its elastic power.
Spring
To bend from a straight direction or plane surface; to become warped; as, a piece of timber, or a plank, sometimes springs in seasoning.
Spring
To shoot up, out, or forth; to come to the light; to begin to appear; to emerge; as a plant from its seed, as streams from their source, and the like; - often followed by up, forth, or out.
Till well nigh the day began to spring.
To satisfy the desolate and waste ground, and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth.
Do not blast my springing hopes.
O, spring to light; auspicious Babe, be born.
Spring
To issue or proceed, as from a parent or ancestor; to result, as from a cause, motive, reason, or principle.
[They found] new hope to springOut of despair, joy, but with fear yet linked.
Spring
To grow; to thrive; to prosper.
What makes all this, but Jupiter the king,At whose command we perish, and we spring?
Spring
To cause to spring up; to start or rouse, as game; to cause to rise from the earth, or from a covert; as, to spring a pheasant.
Spring
To produce or disclose suddenly or unexpectedly; as, to spring a surprise on someone; to spring a joke.
She starts, and leaves her bed, and springs a light.
The friends to the cause sprang a new project.
Spring
To cause to explode; as, to spring a mine.
Spring
To crack or split; to bend or strain so as to weaken; as, to spring a mast or a yard.
Spring
To cause to close suddenly, as the parts of a trap operated by a spring; as, to spring a trap.
Spring
To bend by force, as something stiff or strong; to force or put by bending, as a beam into its sockets, and allowing it to straighten when in place; - often with in, out, etc.; as, to spring in a slat or a bar.
Spring
To pass over by leaping; as, to spring a fence.
Spring
To release (a person) from confinement, especially from a prison.
Spring
A leap; a bound; a jump.
The prisoner, with a spring, from prison broke.
Spring
A flying back; the resilience of a body recovering its former state by its elasticity; as, the spring of a bow.
Spring
Elastic power or force.
Heavens! what a spring was in his arm!
Spring
An elastic body of any kind, as steel, India rubber, tough wood, or compressed air, used for various mechanical purposes, as receiving and imparting power, diminishing concussion, regulating motion, measuring weight or other force.
Spring
Any source of supply; especially, the source from which a stream proceeds; an issue of water from the earth; a natural fountain.
Spring
Any active power; that by which action, or motion, is produced or propagated; cause; origin; motive.
Our author shuns by vulgar springs to moveThe hero's glory, or the virgin's love.
Spring
That which springs, or is originated, from a source;
Spring
That which causes one to spring; specifically, a lively tune.
Spring
The season of the year when plants begin to vegetate and grow; the vernal season, usually comprehending the months of March, April, and May, in the middle latitudes north of the equator.
Spring
The time of growth and progress; early portion; first stage; as, the spring of life.
O how this spring of love resemblethThe uncertain glory of an April day.
Spring
A crack or fissure in a mast or yard, running obliquely or transversely.
Spring
The season of growth;
The emerging buds were a sure sign of spring
He will hold office until the spring of next year
Spring
A natural flow of ground water
Spring
A metal elastic device that returns to its shape or position when pushed or pulled or pressed;
The spring was broken
Spring
A light springing movement upwards or forwards
Spring
The elasticity of something that can be stretched and returns to its original length
Spring
A point at which water issues forth
Spring
Move forward by leaps and bounds;
The horse bounded across the meadow
The child leapt across the puddle
Can you jump over the fence?
Spring
Develop into a distinctive entity;
Our plans began to take shape
Spring
Spring back; spring away from an impact;
The rubber ball bounced
These particles do not resile but they unite after they collide
Spring
Produce or disclose suddenly or unexpectedly;
He sprang a new haircut on his wife
Spring
Develop suddenly;
The tire sprang a leak
Spring
Produce or disclose suddenly or unexpectedly;
He sprang these news on me just as I was leaving
Spring
To move suddenly and quickly.
The dog sprang toward its owner.
Spring
To appear suddenly or unexpectedly.
New ideas sprang up during the meeting.
FAQs
What does "spring" mean?
"Spring" means to move suddenly and quickly, often with a bounce.
What does "leap" mean?
"Leap" means to jump high or cover a long distance in one motion.
Does "spring" imply speed?
Yes, "spring" implies quick, energetic movement.
Can "spring" describe ideas?
Yes, "spring" can describe sudden appearances of ideas or actions.
Does "leap" involve obstacles?
Often, "leap" involves jumping over obstacles or barriers.
Is "leap" used in literature?
Yes, "leap" is often used in literature to describe dramatic actions.
Can "leap" refer to progress?
Yes, "leap" can metaphorically describe significant progress or change.
Is "leap" used in technology?
Yes, "leap" can describe technological advancements, like a "leap forward."
Is "leap" used in sports?
Yes, "leap" is commonly used in sports to describe jumping actions.
Can "spring" describe animals?
Yes, "spring" is often used to describe the quick movements of animals.
Does "leap" imply effort?
Yes, "leap" suggests a significant effort in the action.
Can "spring" imply surprise?
Yes, "spring" often conveys an element of surprise or spontaneity.
Can "leap" describe emotional actions?
Yes, "leap" can metaphorically describe bold emotional actions, like "leap of joy."
Does "leap" imply a large distance?
Yes, "leap" often implies covering a large distance in a jump.
Does "spring" relate to seasons?
Yes, "spring" is also the name of a season but not related to the movement.
Can "spring" mean to jump out?
Yes, "spring" can mean to jump out suddenly.
Does "spring" relate to mechanics?
Yes, "spring" can describe the action of mechanical springs.
Can "spring" be used figuratively?
Yes, "spring" can be used figuratively to describe quick, energetic actions or appearances.
Can "spring" describe sudden growth?
Yes, "spring" can describe rapid, sudden growth or emergence.
Is "leap" used in business?
Yes, "leap" can describe significant business advancements or decisions.
About Author
Written by
Aimie CarlsonAimie Carlson, holding a master's degree in English literature, is a fervent English language enthusiast. She lends her writing talents to Difference Wiki, a prominent website that specializes in comparisons, offering readers insightful analyses that both captivate and inform.
Co-written by
Harlon MossHarlon is a seasoned quality moderator and accomplished content writer for Difference Wiki. An alumnus of the prestigious University of California, he earned his degree in Computer Science. Leveraging his academic background, Harlon brings a meticulous and informed perspective to his work, ensuring content accuracy and excellence.
