Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

leap

2 noun
     
leap2 [countable]
1 a big jump [= bound]:
He threw a stick into the river and the dog went after it in a flying leap.
2 a large increase or change
quantum/great/huge etc leap
a quantum leap (=very great increase or change) in population levels
leap in
a 16% leap in pre-tax profits
leap forward
the huge leap forward that took place in the 1980s
3

by/in leaps and bounds

if something increases, develops, grows etc by leaps and bounds, it does it very quickly:
Lifeboat technology has advanced by leaps and bounds.
4

a leap of (the) imagination

also an imaginative leap a mental process that is needed to understand something difficult or see the connection between two very different ideas
5

leap in the dark

something you do without knowing what will happen as a result
6

leap of faith

something you do even though it involves a risk, hoping that it will have a good result
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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