by leaps and bounds

Idioms

Rapidly, or in fast progress, as in The corn is growing by leaps and bounds, or School enrollment is increasing by leaps and bounds. This term is a redundancy, since leap and bound both mean “spring” or “jump,” but the two words have been paired since Shakespeare's time and are still so used.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In a way, it all happened so quickly, by leaps and bounds.

From Los Angeles Times

AI’s capabilities have improved by leaps and bounds in recent years, to the point that investors suddenly fear that it will be able to replace large swaths of tech and other industries.

From Barron's

AI agents for software development, in particular, have improved by leaps and bounds, Balazs added.

From The Wall Street Journal

Especially when AI is advancing by leaps and bounds, as exemplified by Mr. Musk’s merger?

From The Wall Street Journal

I’m seeing it growing by leaps and bounds on the right.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023