leaps and bounds

L

leaps and bounds

Meaning

• progress very quickly
• grow or increase rapidly
• get better or improve in a short time

Example Sentences

1. Regan’s reading skills are coming on in leaps and bounds with the new teacher.
2. I planted some seedlings last month, and they have grown by leaps and bounds after all the recent rain.
3. My puppy has grown leaps and bounds since I’ve started giving him dietary supplements.
4. When Moss lived in Paris, his command of French increased by leaps and bounds.
5. The IT market is expected to grow with leaps and bounds in the upcoming years.
6. Henry bought shares in a tech company last year, and they have gone up in leaps and bounds.
7. My baby niece has grown in leaps and bounds since I last saw her.

Origin

This idiom, a way of saying that something or someone is improving or increasing at a startling rate, has been in use since Shakespeare’s time. There is often a hint of disbelief or surprise in the use of the phrase. Maybe the progress was unexpected in the timespan.

Leap and bound mean the same thing and are paired together as a way of adding emphasis.

The English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834) first documented the idiom in his poem titled Metrical Feet (1807) – it reads:

“Iambics march from short to long;
With a leap and a bound, the swift Anapaests throng.”

Assorted, Time