jump at

British

verb

(intr, preposition) to be glad to accept

I would jump at the chance of going

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

jump at Idioms

Also, jump at the chance; jump at the bait. Take prompt advantage of, respond quickly to an opportunity. For example, When Dad said he'd help pay for my vacation, I jumped at the offer, or When the lead singer became ill, Sheila jumped at the chance to replace her, or They offered a large reward, hoping that someone would jump at the bait. [Mid-1700s]

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.

Were those experiences so bad that you felt you just had to jump at a job that came your way?!

From BBC

These good folks would jump at the chance to go to the White House and tell Mr. Navarro who, exactly, is paying these taxes—if, that is, they had enough lobbying clout to get through the front door.

From The Wall Street Journal

American oil companies, the president assumed, would jump at the chance to get in there right away, but that hasn’t happened.

From Salon

My brother bites back a smile, and I jump at the opening.

From Literature

Quarterly revenue per available seat mile, or how much money the airline makes for every seat it flies, is expected to jump at least 9.5%.

From The Wall Street Journal

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