Leap vs. Step — What's the Difference?
By Urooj Arif & Fiza Rafique — Updated on March 28, 2024
A leap is a significant, sudden movement or transition, often implying a larger change, while a step is a smaller, more deliberate movement or phase in a process.
Difference Between Leap and Step
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
A leap often denotes a large, sudden change or movement, emphasizing rapid transition or a significant jump forward in terms of progress or location. It's associated with taking risks or making a bold move. Whereas a step refers to a smaller, more measured move or action, highlighting gradual progress or the idea of proceeding bit by bit.
Leaps are generally associated with moments of significant change that can be pivotal or transformative. This can apply to physical jumps, career moves, or personal growth, where the outcome is substantially different from the starting point. On the other hand, steps symbolize methodical progress, suggesting a planned, deliberate approach to achieving a goal or making changes.
In physical movements, a leap requires more energy and effort, aiming to cover a greater distance or overcome a barrier in one motion. It implies a more dynamic and forceful action. Steps, conversely, are part of a continuous motion, focusing on stability and precision, and are essential for steady progression or navigation.
When discussing career or personal development, taking a leap can signify a significant and sometimes abrupt shift, like changing careers or moving to a new country. It suggests breaking away from the familiar into new territories. Steps in this context represent incremental achievements or decisions that collectively lead to a goal, emphasizing patience and persistence.
In innovation and change management, leaps symbolize breakthroughs or radical innovations that dramatically alter the status quo. They reflect a departure from traditional methods or thinking. Steps are about incremental innovation and continuous improvement, where changes are made gradually, enhancing efficiency or effectiveness over time.
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Comparison Chart
Scale
Large and significant
Small and incremental
Pace
Sudden and quick
Gradual and deliberate
Effort
Requires more energy and effort
Less energy, focused on precision
Associated With
Risk-taking, significant change
Methodical progress, continuous movement
Application
Transformational changes, physical jumps
Incremental achievements, navigation
Compare with Definitions
Leap
A physical jump, especially a long-distance one.
The athlete's leap won him the gold medal.
Step
A movement made by lifting the foot and setting it down in a new position.
He took careful steps on the icy sidewalk.
Leap
A sudden or large move or transition.
She took a leap of faith by starting her own business.
Step
A measure or action taken to achieve a goal.
They're taking steps to improve their health.
Leap
Making a significant change or advancement.
Moving to a new city was a huge leap for them.
Step
A phase or stage in a process.
The next step in their plan is to secure funding.
Leap
An act of risk-taking or venturing into unknown territory.
Investing in the startup was a big leap.
Step
A flat surface, especially one meant for walking.
Watch your step; the stairs are steep.
Leap
A rapid transition in thoughts or subjects.
The conversation took a leap into unexpected topics.
Step
Moving at a slow and steady pace.
Success requires taking one step at a time.
Leap
Jump or spring a long way, to a great height, or with great force
Fabia's heart leapt excitedly
He leapt on to the parapet
Step
The single complete movement of raising one foot and putting it down in another spot, as in walking.
Leap
Move quickly and suddenly
Polly leapt to her feet
Step
A manner of walking; a particular gait.
Leap
A forceful jump or quick movement
She came downstairs in a series of flying leaps
Step
A fixed rhythm or pace, as in marching
Keep step.
Leap
A group of leopards
We stopped to photograph a leap of leopards
Step
The sound of a footstep.
Leap
To propel oneself quickly upward or a long way; spring or jump
The goat leaped over the wall. The salmon leapt across the barrier.
Step
A footprint
Steps in the mud.
Leap
To move quickly or suddenly
Leaped out of his chair to answer the door.
Step
The distance traversed by moving one foot ahead of the other.
Leap
To change quickly or abruptly from one condition or subject to another
Always leaping to conclusions.
Step
A very short distance
Just a step away.
Leap
To act quickly or impulsively
Leaped at the opportunity to travel.
Step
Steps Course; path
Turned her steps toward home.
Leap
To enter eagerly into an activity; plunge
Leapt into the project with both feet.
Step
One of a series of rhythmical, patterned movements of the feet used in a dance
Diagrammed the basic steps to the mambo.
Leap
To propel oneself over
I couldn't leap the brook.
Step
A rest for the foot in ascending or descending.
Leap
To cause to leap
She leapt her horse over the hurdle.
Step
Steps Stairs.
Leap
The act of leaping; a jump.
Step
Something, such as a ledge or an offset, that resembles a step of a stairway.
Leap
A place jumped over or from.
Step
A low platform used for exercise, as in step aerobics.
Leap
The distance cleared in a leap.
Step
One of a series of actions, processes, or measures taken to achieve a goal.
Leap
An abrupt or precipitous passage, shift, or transition
A leap from rags to riches.
Step
A stage in a process
Followed every step in the instructions.
Leap
(intransitive) To jump.
Step
A degree in progress or a grade or rank in a scale
A step up in the corporate hierarchy.
Leap
(transitive) To pass over by a leap or jump.
To leap a wall or a ditch
Step
The interval that separates two successive tones of a scale, especially a major second, as between C and D in the scale of C major.
Leap
To copulate with (a female beast)
Step
A degree of a scale.
Leap
To copulate with (a human)
Step
(Nautical) The block in which the heel of a mast is fixed.
Leap
(transitive) To cause to leap.
To leap a horse across a ditch
Step
To put or press the foot
Step on the brake.
Leap
The act of leaping or jumping.
He made a leap across the river.
Step
To shift or move slightly by taking a step or two
Step back.
Leap
The distance traversed by a leap or jump.
Step
To walk a short distance to a specified place or in a specified direction
Step over to the corner.
Leap
A group of leopards.
Step
To move with the feet in a particular manner
Step lively.
Leap
(figuratively) A significant move forward.
Step
To move into a new situation by or as if by taking a single step
Stepping into a life of ease.
Leap
(figuratively) A large step in reasoning, often one that is not justified by the facts.
It's quite a leap to claim that those cloud formations are evidence of UFOs.
Step
To treat someone with arrogant indifference
He is always stepping on other people.
Leap
(mining) A fault.
Step
To put or set (the foot) down
Step foot on land.
Leap
Copulation with, or coverture of, a female beast.
Step
To measure by pacing
Step off ten yards.
Leap
(music) A passing from one note to another by an interval, especially by a long one, or by one including several other intermediate intervals.
Step
To furnish with steps; make steps in
Terraces that are stepped along the hillside.
Leap
A salmon ladder.
Step
(Computers) To cause (a computer) to execute a single instruction.
Leap
A trap or snare for fish, made from twigs; a weely.
Step
(Nautical) To place (a mast) in its step.
Leap
Half a bushel.
Step
An advance or movement made from one foot to the other; a pace.
Leap
A basket.
Step
A rest, or one of a set of rests, for the foot in ascending or descending, as a stair, or a rung of a ladder.
Leap
A weel or wicker trap for fish.
Step
The part of a spade, digging stick or similar tool that a digger's foot rests against and presses on when digging; an ear, a foot-rest.
Leap
The act of leaping, or the space passed by leaping; a jump; a spring; a bound.
Wickedness comes on by degrees, . . . and sudden leaps from one extreme to another are unnatural.
Changes of tone may proceed either by leaps or glides.
Step
A distinct part of a process; stage; phase.
He improved step by step, or by steps.
The first step is to find a job.
Leap
Copulation with, or coverture of, a female beast.
Step
A running board where passengers step to get on and off the bus.
The driver must have a clear view of the step in order to prevent accidents.
Leap
A fault.
Step
The space passed over by one movement of the foot in walking or running.
One step is generally about three feet, but may be more or less.
Leap
A passing from one note to another by an interval, especially by a long one, or by one including several other and intermediate intervals.
Step
A small space or distance.
It is but a step.
Leap
To spring clear of the ground, with the feet; to jump; to vault; as, a man leaps over a fence, or leaps upon a horse.
Leap in with me into this angry flood.
Step
A print of the foot; a footstep; a footprint; track.
Leap
To spring or move suddenly, as by a jump or by jumps; to bound; to move swiftly. Also Fig.
My heart leaps up when I beholdA rainbow in the sky.
Step
A gait; manner of walking.
The approach of a man is often known by his step.
Leap
To pass over by a leap or jump; as, to leap a wall, or a ditch.
Step
Proceeding; measure; action; act.
Leap
To copulate with (a female beast); to cover.
Step
(in the plural) A walk; passage.
Leap
To cause to leap; as, to leap a horse across a ditch.
Step
(in the plural) A portable framework of stairs, much used indoors in reaching to a high position.
Leap
A light springing movement upwards or forwards
Step
(nautical) A framing in wood or iron which is intended to receive an upright shaft; specifically, a block of wood, or a solid platform upon the keelson, supporting the heel of the mast.
Leap
An abrupt transition;
A successful leap from college to the major leagues
Step
(machines) One of a series of offsets, or parts, resembling the steps of stairs, as one of the series of parts of a cone pulley on which the belt runs.
Leap
A sudden and decisive increase;
A jump in attendance
Step
(machines) A bearing in which the lower extremity of a spindle or a vertical shaft revolves.
Leap
The distance leaped (or to be leaped);
A leap of 10 feet
Step
(music) The interval between two contiguous degrees of the scale.
Usage note: The word tone is often used as the name of this interval; but there is evident incongruity in using tone for indicating the interval between tones. As the word scale is derived from the Italian scala, a ladder, the intervals may well be called steps.
Leap
Move forward by leaps and bounds;
The horse bounded across the meadow
The child leapt across the puddle
Can you jump over the fence?
Step
(kinematics) A change of position effected by a motion of translation.
Leap
Pass abruptly from one state or topic to another;
Leap into fame
Jump to a conclusion
Step
(programming) A constant difference between consecutive values in a series.
Printing from 0 to 9 with a step of 3 will display 0, 3, 6 and 9.
Leap
Cause to jump or leap;
The trainer jumped the tiger through the hoop
Step
(colloquial) A stepchild.
Step
(slang) A stepsibling.
Step
(intransitive) To move the foot in walking; to advance or recede by raising and moving one of the feet to another resting place, or by moving both feet in succession.
Step
(intransitive) To walk; to go on foot; especially, to walk a little distance.
To step to one of the neighbors
Step
(intransitive) To walk slowly, gravely, or resolutely.
Step
To dance.
Step
To move mentally; to go in imagination.
Step
(transitive) To set, as the foot.
Step
To fix the foot of (a mast) in its step; to erect.
Step
To move the foot in walking; to advance or recede by raising and moving one of the feet to another resting place, or by moving both feet in succession.
Step
To walk; to go on foot; esp., to walk a little distance; as, to step to one of the neighbors.
Step
To walk slowly, gravely, or resolutely.
Home the swain retreats,His flock before him stepping to the fold.
Step
Fig.: To move mentally; to go in imagination.
They are stepping almost three thousand years back into the remotest antiquity.
Whosoever then first, after the troubling of the water, stepped in, was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
Step
To set, as the foot.
Step
To fix the foot of (a mast) in its step; to erect.
Step
An advance or movement made by one removal of the foot; a pace.
Step
A rest, or one of a set of rests, for the foot in ascending or descending, as a stair, or a round of a ladder.
The breadth of every single step or stair should be never less than one foot.
Step
The space passed over by one movement of the foot in walking or running; as, one step is generally about three feet, but may be more or less. Used also figuratively of any kind of progress; as, he improved step by step, or by steps.
To derive two or three general principles of motion from phenomena, and afterwards to tell us how the properties and actions of all corporeal things follow from those manifest principles, would be a very great step in philosophy.
Step
A small space or distance; as, it is but a step.
Step
A print of the foot; a footstep; a footprint; track.
Step
Gait; manner of walking; as, the approach of a man is often known by his step.
Step
Proceeding; measure; action; an act.
The reputation of a man depends on the first steps he makes in the world.
Beware of desperate steps. The darkest day,Live till to-morrow, will have passed away.
I have lately taken steps . . . to relieve the old gentleman's distresses.
Step
Walk; passage.
Conduct my steps to find the fatal tree.
Step
A portable framework of stairs, much used indoors in reaching to a high position.
Step
In general, a framing in wood or iron which is intended to receive an upright shaft; specif., a block of wood, or a solid platform upon the keelson, supporting the heel of the mast.
Step
One of a series of offsets, or parts, resembling the steps of stairs, as one of the series of parts of a cone pulley on which the belt runs.
Step
The intervak between two contiguous degrees of the csale.
Step
A change of position effected by a motion of translation.
Step
At Eton College, England, a shallow step dividing the court into an inner and an outer portion.
Step
Any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal;
The situation called for strong measures
The police took steps to reduce crime
Step
The distance covered by a step;
He stepped off ten paces from the old tree and began to dig
Step
The act of changing location by raising the foot and setting it down;
He walked with unsteady steps
Step
Support consisting of a place to rest the foot while ascending or descending a stairway;
He paused on the bottom step
Step
Relative position in a graded series;
Always a step behind
Subtle gradations in color
Keep in step with the fashions
Step
A short distance;
It's only a step to the drugstore
Step
The sound of a step of someone walking;
He heard footsteps on the porch
Step
A musical interval of two semitones
Step
A mark of a foot or shoe on a surface;
The police made casts of the footprints in the soft earth outside the window
Step
A solid block joined to the beams in which the heel of a ship's mast or capstan is fixed
Step
A sequence of foot movements that make up a particular dance;
He taught them the waltz step
Step
Shift or move by taking a step;
Step back
Step
Put down or press the foot, place the foot;
For fools rush in where angels fear to tread
Step on the brake
Step
Cause (a computer) to execute a single command
Step
Treat badly;
This boss abuses his workers
She is always stepping on others to get ahead
Step
Furnish with steps;
The architect wants to step the terrace
Step
Move with one's feet in a specific manner;
Step lively
Step
Walk a short distance to a specified place or in a specified manner;
Step over to the blackboard
Step
Place (a ship's mast) in its step
Step
Measure (distances) by pacing;
Step off ten yards
Step
Move or proceed as if by steps into a new situation;
She stepped into a life of luxury
He won't step into his father's footsteps
Common Curiosities
Are steps always physical?
No, steps can also refer to phases, actions, or measures in non-physical contexts, like planning.
Can steps lead to a leap?
Yes, cumulative steps can lead to significant changes that might be seen as a leap.
Is taking a leap always risky?
Often, but not always, taking a leap involves greater risk or uncertainty compared to taking a step.
Can a leap be metaphorical?
Yes, leaps can be metaphorical, representing significant life changes or decisions.
What distinguishes a leap from a step?
A leap is a significant, sudden change or movement, whereas a step is a smaller, gradual action or phase.
Is planning necessary for taking a leap?
While spontaneous, some leaps do involve planning, especially in career or life decisions.
How do leaps relate to progress?
Leaps can accelerate progress by making significant advances in a short time.
Can a leap be a physical movement only?
No, leaps can also signify substantial changes or decisions in life, work, or thought processes.
Can steps be part of a strategy for a leap?
Yes, strategic steps can prepare for or build up to a significant change or leap.
Can a step be part of a leap?
In a metaphorical sense, yes. Steps can be components of a larger, significant change.
How do steps contribute to goal achievement?
Steps represent incremental progress towards achieving a goal, emphasizing a deliberate approach.
How do leaps and steps interact in personal development?
Personal development can involve both steps (for steady growth) and leaps (for breakthrough moments).
Do leaps require more effort than steps?
Generally, yes, leaps require more effort, both physically and metaphorically.
How does one decide between a leap and a step?
It depends on the individual's goals, risk tolerance, and the context of the situation.
Can taking a step be seen as risk-averse?
In some contexts, yes. Choosing to take steps rather than leaps can be a more cautious approach to change.
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Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
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Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
