Definition of 'gallop'

Word Frequency

gallop

(gæləp )

Word forms: 3rd person singular present tense gallops , present participle galloping , past tense, past participle galloped

1. verb

When a horse gallops, it runs very fast so that all four legs are off the ground at the same time. If you gallop a horse, you make it gallop.

The horses galloped away. [VERB adverb/preposition]

Staff officers galloped fine horses down the road. [VERB noun preposition/adverb]

Synonyms: run, race, shoot, career More Synonyms of gallop

2. verb

If you gallop, you ride a horse that is galloping.

Major Winston galloped into the distance. [VERB preposition/adverb]

3. singular noun

A gallop is a ride on a horse that is galloping.

I was forced to attempt a gallop.

4. verb

If something such as a process gallops, it develops very quickly and is often difficult to control.

In spite of the recession, profits have galloped ahead. [VERB adverb]

...galloping inflation. [VERB-ing]

5. verb

If you gallop, you run somewhere very quickly.

They are galloping around the garden playing football. [VERB preposition]

[Also VERB noun]

Synonyms: dash, run, race, shoot More Synonyms of gallop

at a gallop

More Synonyms of gallop

Video: pronunciation of 'gallop'

Word Frequency

gallop in British

(ˈɡæləp )

verbWord forms: -lops, -loping or -loped

1. (intransitive)

(of a horse or other quadruped) to run fast with a two-beat stride in which all four legs are off the ground at once

to ride (a horse, etc) at a gallop

3. (intransitive)

to move, read, talk, etc, rapidly; hurry

noun

the fast two-beat gait of horses and other quadrupeds

an instance of galloping

Derived forms

galloper (ˈgalloper)

noun

Word origin of 'gallop'

C16: from Old French galoper, of uncertain origin

Word Frequency

gallop in American

(ˈgæləp ; galˈəp)

verb intransitive

to go at a gallop

to move, progress, or act very fast; hurry

verb transitive

to cause to gallop

noun

the fastest gait of a horse or other animal, consisting of a succession of leaping strides with all the feet off the ground at one time

a ride on a galloping animal

any fast pace, speedy action, or rapid progression

Derived forms

galloper (ˈgalloper)

noun

galloping (ˈgalloping)

adjective

Word origin of 'gallop'

ME galopen < OFr galoper < Frank *walahlaupan, to run well < *wala, akin to well2 + *hlaupan, to run, akin to leap

Example sentences containing 'gallop'

These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content. Read more…

He had been in great form but they were going a right good gallop. Times, Sunday Times (2016)It's the same as me galloping on a horse on a beach. Times, Sunday Times (2016)While our endowment has spluttered and underperformed, the value of the house galloped ahead. Times, Sunday Times (2016)He benefitted from a strong pace to win at Newbury and he should get another fast early gallop today. The Sun (2016)We should get a proper good gallop and, if we do, he will be very hard to beat. The Sun (2016)They say the tide in the bay comes in faster than a galloping horse. Times, Sunday Times (2006)He needs a really good gallop and another race before the big day. The Sun (2015)They are very well ahead on the gallops. The Sun (2014)This looks sure to be run at a faster gallop. The Sun (2013)That race was run in almost course record time despite the early gallop being steady. Times, Sunday Times (2009)The book is a gallop of a read. Times, Sunday Times (2009)He soon began galloping around the paddock. Times, Sunday Times (2012)Or maybe we could borrow some horses and go for a gallop? Times, Sunday Times (2007)This should be run at a stronger gallop. The Sun (2014)To ride on the gallops at home he was terribly slow and laborious. Times, Sunday Times (2011)They went no gallop and the ground was a bit quicker than we would have wanted. The Sun (2011)He may need further these days but they went at a good gallop and that helped him. Times, Sunday Times (2011)The colt galloped away with his jockey and bolted over the hill. The Sun (2013)The early gallop may not be strong today so her proven turn of pace is a big plus. The Sun (2013)The race worked out well as he had a good turn of speed and they went a slow gallop. The Sun (2009)Our horses train on all-weather gallops and barely encounter anything soft until they hit a racecourse. The Sun (2007)He would exert himself more strenuously when working up his trainer's uphill gallop of a morning. Times, Sunday Times (2008)To win a Festival race you need a strong galloping horse who can jump well. The Sun (2009)Once they were saddled up it was business as usual on the all-weather gallops. The Sun (2009)While the technology gallops ahead we have not built the social conventions to manage how new forms of digital data should be used. Times, Sunday Times (2009)After them came a number of men on horseback, all galloping as fast as they could. Anna Sewell Black Beauty (1877)Dubai Millennium had fractured a bone in his hind leg on the gallops earlier that morning. Frankie Dettori with Jonathan Powell FRANKIE: The Autobiography of Frankie Dettori (2004)My imagination galloped around the possible, the impossible and the absurd. Times, Sunday Times (2007)Our problem since then is that we can't get them to the gallop because the roads are too icy to walk them on. Times, Sunday Times (2010)