leaps and bounds
Swift dramatic advancement
Leaps and bounds describes rapid, dramatic progress or growth.
The phrase nearly always follows the preposition by: Her vocabulary is increasing by leaps and bounds.
It emphasizes not just advancement but advancement at an impressive or surprising rate.
The image is of someone covering ground not by walking but by springing forward in great bounds.
- jumpPropel oneself airborne
- hopSmall, quick jump
- rapidlyAt high velocity
- progressMovement toward improvement
- moving forwardContinuing toward a goal
big jump · step change · sea change · advancement · exponential growth · growth spurt · improvement · spring · vault · grow · skip · acceleration · transformation · thrive · surge · evolve · development · propel
- progressprogress, in progress, promotion, raise, making progress
- pairspair, pairs, two, duo, duos
leaps and boundsat a snail's pace
inch by inch · glacially · slowly but surely · gradually · incrementally
leaps and boundsstep by step
In ordered stages
bit by bit · piecemeal · one step at a time · baby steps · fractionally
leap, leaps, leaped, leaping, leaper, leapers, leapt, bound, bounds