Hop vs. Jump — What's the Difference?
Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Fiza Rafique — Updated on October 30, 2023
Hop typically refers to a light leap on one foot, while Jump involves a more forceful movement, often using both feet.
Difference Between Hop and Jump
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Hop and Jump are both verbs describing a motion off the ground, but they carry nuanced differences in their usage and intensity. A hop often implies a light, quick leap or spring, usually on one foot. Think of a child happily hopping on one leg or a rabbit taking short, swift movements. On the other hand, jump generally indicates a more vigorous motion, often involving both feet. Picture someone jumping over a hurdle or a cat suddenly leaping in surprise.
The word hop can also convey a sense of moving from one place to another in a series or sequence, often casually. For example, when one "bar hops," they move from one tavern to another. Jump doesn't possess this sequential connotation. Instead, when someone says they "jump into action," the emphasis is on a sudden start or a burst of energy, rather than a sequential movement.
Furthermore, in contexts outside physical movement, hop tends to have a more informal connotation, whereas jump can have a sense of urgency or immediacy. For instance, "hop on a call" sounds more casual than "jump into a meeting." Yet, in both cases, the underlying essence is about taking action or making a movement.
Culturally, hops and jumps are seen in various activities. While a ballet dancer might execute delicate hops, a basketball player aims to make powerful jumps to dunk the ball. Regardless of the nuances, both words celebrate the human ability to defy gravity, even if momentarily.
Comparison Chart
Physical Movement
A light leap, often on one foot.
A more forceful leap, typically using both feet.
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Connotation
Can indicate a sequence or casual movement.
Implies immediacy, urgency, or a sudden start.
Usage in Phrases
"Hop on a call", "bar hop".
"Jump into action", "jump to conclusions".
Relation to Animals
Associated with movements of animals like rabbits or frogs.
Think of a cat jumping in surprise or a horse jumping over obstacles.
Duration
Short and quick.
Can be sustained, especially when referring to longer distances or heights.
Compare with Definitions
Hop
A free ride; a lift.
Jump
To take prompt advantage; respond quickly
Jump at a bargain.
Hop
A light spring or leap, especially on one foot.
The rabbit took a small hop over the puddle.
Jump
To move quickly to a position.
She would jump to the front of the line whenever she could.
Hop
Moving in a sequence from one place to another.
We can hop from one island to the next on our trip.
Jump
Making a sudden decision or starting something abruptly.
He's always quick to jump to conclusions.
Hop
A casual movement in a specific direction.
Let's hop over to the store for some snacks.
Jump
To propel oneself upward or over a distance in single quick motion or series of such motions.
Hop
A dance move involving a quick leap.
The new dance routine has a lot of hops and turns.
Jump
To move suddenly and in one motion
Jumped out of bed.
Hop
To move with light bounding skips or leaps.
Jump
To move involuntarily, as in surprise
Jumped when the phone rang.
Hop
(Informal) To move quickly or be busily active
The shipping department is hopping this week.
Jump
To parachute from an aircraft.
Hop
To jump on one foot or with both feet at the same time.
Jump
(Informal) To act quickly; hustle
Jump when I give you an order.
Hop
To make a quick trip, especially in an airplane.
Jump
To enter eagerly into an activity; plunge
Jumped into the race for the nomination.
Hop
To travel or move often from place to place. Often used in combination
Party-hop.
Jump
To begin or start. Often used with off
The project jumped off with great enthusiasm.
Hop
To move over by hopping
Hop a ditch two feet wide.
Jump
To form an opinion or judgment hastily
Jump to conclusions.
Hop
(Informal) To get on (a train) surreptitiously in order to ride without paying a fare
Hop a freight train.
Jump
To make a sudden verbal attack; lash out
Jumped at me for being late.
Hop
To flavor with hops.
Jump
To undergo a sudden and pronounced increase
Prices jumped in October.
Hop
A light springy jump or leap, especially on one foot or with both feet at the same time.
Jump
To rise suddenly in position or rank
Jumped over two others with more seniority.
Hop
A rebound
The ball took a bad hop.
Jump
To change discontinuously or after a short period
Jumps from one subject to another.
Jumped from one job to another.
Hop
(Informal) A dance or dance party.
Jump
To be displaced by a sudden jerk
The phonograph needle jumped.
Hop
A short distance.
Jump
To be displaced vertically or laterally because of improper alignment
The film jumped during projection.
Hop
A short trip, especially by air.
Jump
(Computers) To move from one set of instructions in a program to another out of sequence.
Hop
A twining vine (Humulus lupulus) having lobed leaves and green female flowers arranged in conelike spikes.
Jump
To move over an opponent's playing piece in a board game.
Hop
Hops The dried female inflorescences of this plant, containing a bitter aromatic oil. They are used in brewing to inhibit bacterial growth and to add the characteristic bitter taste to beer.
Jump
To make a jump bid in bridge.
Hop
(Slang) Opium.
Jump
(Slang) To be lively; bustle
A disco that really jumps.
Hop
A short jump.
The frog crossed the brook in three or four hops.
Jump
To leap over or across
Jump a fence.
Hop
A jump on one leg.
Jump
To leap onto
Jump a bus.
Hop
A short journey, especially in the case of air travel, one that takes place on a private plane.
Jump
(Slang) To spring upon in sudden attack; assault or ambush
Muggers jumped him in the park.
Hop
A bounce, especially from the ground, of a thrown or batted ball.
Jump
To move or start prematurely before
Jumped the starting signal.
Hop
A dance; a gathering for the purpose of dancing.
Jump
To cause to leap
Jump a horse over a fence.
Hop
(networking) The sending of a data packet from one host to another as part of its overall journey.
Jump
To cause to increase suddenly
Shortages that jumped milk prices by several cents.
Hop
The plant (Humulus lupulus) from whose flowers beer or ale is brewed.
Jump
To pass over; skip
The typewriter jumped a space.
Hop
The flowers of the hop plant, dried and used to brew beer etc.
Jump
To raise in rank or position; promote.
Hop
Opium, or some other narcotic drug.
Jump
To move a piece over (an opponent's piece) in a board game, often thereby capturing the opponent's piece.
Hop
The fruit of the dog rose; a hip.
Jump
To raise (a partner's bid) in bridge by more than is necessary.
Hop
(intransitive) To jump a short distance.
Jump
To jump-start (a motor vehicle).
Hop
(intransitive) To jump on one foot.
Jump
To leave (a course), especially through mishap
The train jumped the rails.
Hop
(intransitive) To be in state of energetic activity.
Sorry, can't chat. Got to hop.
The sudden rush of customers had everyone in the shop hopping.
Jump
To leave hastily; skip
Jumped town a step ahead of the police.
Hop
(transitive) To suddenly take a mode of transportation that one does not drive oneself, often surreptitiously.
I hopped a plane over here as soon as I heard the news.
He was trying to hop a ride in an empty trailer headed north.
He hopped a train to California.
Jump
To leave (an organization, for example) suddenly or in violation of an agreement
Jumped the team and signed with a rival club.
Hop
(transitive) To jump onto, or over
Jump
To seize or occupy illegally
Jump a mining claim.
Hop
To move frequently from one place or situation to another similar one.
We were party-hopping all weekend.
We had to island-hop on the weekly seaplane to get to his hideaway.
Jump
Vulgar Slang To have sexual intercourse with.
Hop
To go in a quick or sudden manner.
Jump
The act of jumping; a leap.
Hop
(informal) To dance.
Jump
The distance covered by a jump
A jump of seven feet.
Hop
(obsolete) To walk lame; to limp.
Jump
An obstacle or span to be jumped.
Hop
(transitive) To impregnate with hops, especially to add hops as a flavouring agent during the production of beer
Jump
A structure or course from which a jump is made
Built a jump out of snow.
Hop
(intransitive) To gather hops.
Jump
A descent from an aircraft by parachute.
Hop
To move by successive leaps, as toads do; to spring or jump on one foot; to skip, as birds do.
[Birds] hopping from spray to spray.
Jump
(Sports) Any of several track-and-field events in which contestants jump.
Hop
To walk lame; to limp; to halt.
Jump
An initial competitive advantage; a head start
Got the jump on the other newspapers.
Hop
To dance.
Jump
Energy or quickness
"We got off to a slow start. We didn't have any jump, and when we did get things going, we were too far behind" (John LeClair).
Hop
To impregnate with hops.
Jump
A sudden pronounced rise, as in price or salary.
Hop
A leap on one leg, as of a boy; a leap, as of a toad; a jump; a spring.
Jump
An impressive promotion.
Hop
A dance; esp., an informal dance of ball.
Jump
A step or level
Managed to stay a jump ahead.
Hop
A climbing plant (Humulus Lupulus), having a long, twining, annual stalk. It is cultivated for its fruit (hops).
Jump
A sudden or major transition, as from one career or subject to another.
Hop
The catkin or strobilaceous fruit of the hop, much used in brewing to give a bitter taste.
Jump
A short trip.
Hop
The fruit of the dog-rose. See Hip.
Jump
One in a series of moves and stopovers, as with a circus or road show.
Hop
The act of hopping; jumping upward or forward (especially on one foot)
Jump
(Games) A move in a board game over an opponent's piece.
Hop
Twining perennials having cordate leaves and flowers arranged in conelike spikes; the dried flowers of this plant are used in brewing to add the characteristic bitter taste to beer
Jump
(Computers) A movement from one set of instructions to another.
Hop
An informal dance where popular music is played
Jump
An involuntary nervous movement; a start.
Hop
Jump lightly
Jump
Jumps A condition of nervousness. Often used with the.
Hop
Move quickly from one place to another
Jump
A jump-start of a motor vehicle.
Hop
Informal: travel by means of an aircraft, bus, etc.;
She hopped a train to Chicago
He hopped rides all over the country
Jump
Vulgar Slang An act of sexual intercourse.
Hop
Make a quick trip especially by air;
Hop the Pacific Ocean
Jump
(intransitive) To propel oneself rapidly upward, downward and/or in any horizontal direction such that momentum causes the body to become airborne.
The boy jumped over a fence.
Kangaroos are known for their ability to jump high.
Hop
Jump across;
He hopped the bush
Jump
(intransitive) To cause oneself to leave an elevated location and fall downward.
She is going to jump from the diving board.
Hop
Make a jump forward or upward
Jump
(transitive) To pass by a spring or leap; to overleap.
To jump a stream
Hop
To board or get onto a mode of transportation.
I'll hop on the next bus to the city.
Jump
(intransitive) To employ a parachute to leave an aircraft or elevated location.
Jump
(intransitive) To react to a sudden, often unexpected, stimulus (such as a sharp prick or a loud sound) by jerking the body violently.
The sudden sharp sound made me jump.
Jump
To increase sharply, to rise, to shoot up.
Share prices jumped by 10% after the company announced record profits.
Jump
(intransitive) To employ a move in certain board games where one game piece is moved from one legal position to another passing over the position of another piece.
The player's knight jumped the opponent's bishop.
Jump
(transitive) To move to a position (in a queue/line) that is further forward.
I hate it when people jump the queue.
Jump
(transitive) To attack suddenly and violently.
The hoodlum jumped a woman in the alley.
Jump
To engage in sexual intercourse with (a person).
Jump
(transitive) To cause to jump.
The rider jumped the horse over the fence.
Jump
(transitive) To move the distance between two opposing subjects.
Jump
(transitive) To increase the height of a tower crane by inserting a section at the base of the tower and jacking up everything above it.
Jump
To increase speed aggressively and without warning.
Jump
To expose to danger; to risk; to hazard.
Jump
To join by a buttweld.
Jump
To thicken or enlarge by endwise blows; to upset.
Jump
(quarrying) To bore with a jumper.
Jump
To jump-start a car or other vehicle with a dead battery, as with jumper cables.
Jump
(obsolete) To coincide; to agree; to accord; to tally; followed by with.
Jump
To start executing code from a different location, rather than following the program counter.
Jump
To flee; to make one's escape.
Jump
The act of jumping; a leap; a spring; a bound.
Jump
An effort; an attempt; a venture.
Jump
(mining) A dislocation in a stratum; a fault.
Jump
(architecture) An abrupt interruption of level in a piece of brickwork or masonry.
Jump
An instance of propelling oneself upwards.
The boy took a skip and a jump down the lane.
Jump
An object which causes one to jump; a ramp.
The skier flew off the jump and landed perfectly.
Jump
An instance of causing oneself to fall from an elevated location.
There were a couple of jumps from the bridge.
Jump
An instance of employing a parachute to leave an aircraft or elevated location.
She was terrified before the jump, but was thrilled to be skydiving.
Jump
An instance of reacting to a sudden stimulus by jerking the body.
Jump
A jumping move in a board game.
The knight's jump in chess
Jump
A button (of a joypad, joystick or similar device) used to make a video game character jump (propel itself upwards).
Press jump to start.
Jump
An obstacle that forms part of a showjumping course, and that the horse has to jump over cleanly.
Heartless managed the scale the first jump but fell over the second.
Jump
(with on) An early start or an advantage.
He got a jump on the day because he had laid out everything the night before.
Their research department gave them the jump on the competition.
Jump
(mathematics) A discontinuity in the graph of a function, where the function is continuous in a punctured interval of the discontinuity.
Jump
An abrupt increase in the height of the surface of a flowing liquid at the location where the flow transitions from supercritical to subcritical, involving an abrupt reduction in flow speed and increase in turbulence.
Jump
(science fiction) An instance of faster-than-light travel, not observable from ordinary space.
Jump
(programming) A change of the path of execution to a different location.
Jump
(film) jump cut
Jump
(theatre) one-night stand
Jump
A kind of loose jacket for men.
Jump
(obsolete) Exactly; precisely
Jump
(obsolete) Exact; matched; fitting; precise.
Jump
A kind of loose jacket for men.
Jump
The act of jumping; a leap; a spring; a bound.
Jump
An effort; an attempt; a venture.
Our fortune liesUpon thisjump.
Jump
The space traversed by a leap.
Jump
A dislocation in a stratum; a fault.
Jump
An abrupt interruption of level in a piece of brickwork or masonry.
Jump
A jump-start; as, to get a jump from a passing mmotorist.
Jump
To spring free from the ground by the muscular action of the feet and legs; to project one's self through the air; to spring; to bound; to leap.
Not the worst of the three but jumps twelve foot and a half by the square.
Jump
To move as if by jumping; to bounce; to jolt.
A flock of geese jump down together.
Jump
To coincide; to agree; to accord; to tally; - followed by with.
Jump
To pass over by means of a spring or leap; to overleap; as, to jump a stream.
Jump
To cause to jump; as, he jumped his horse across the ditch.
Jump
To expose to danger; to risk; to hazard.
To jump a body with a dangerous physic.
Jump
To join by a butt weld.
Jump
To bore with a jumper.
Jump
Nice; exact; matched; fitting; precise.
Jump
Exactly; pat.
Jump
A sudden and decisive increase;
A jump in attendance
Jump
An abrupt transition;
A successful leap from college to the major leagues
Jump
(film) an abrupt transition from one scene to another
Jump
A sudden involuntary movement;
He awoke with a start
Jump
Descent with a parachute;
He had done a lot of parachuting in the army
Jump
The act of jumping; propelling yourself off the ground;
He advanced in a series of jumps
The jumping was unexpected
Jump
Move forward by leaps and bounds;
The horse bounded across the meadow
The child leapt across the puddle
Can you jump over the fence?
Jump
Move or jump suddenly, as if in surprise or alarm;
She startled when I walked into the room
Jump
Make a sudden physical attack on;
The muggers jumped the woman in the fur coat
Jump
Increase suddenly and significantly;
Prices jumped overnight
Jump
Be highly noticeable
Jump
Enter eagerly into;
He jumped into the game
Jump
Rise in rank or status;
Her new novel jumped high on the bestseller list
Jump
Run off or leave the rails;
The train derailed because a cow was standing on the tracks
Jump
Jump from an airplane and descend with a parachute
Jump
Cause to jump or leap;
The trainer jumped the tiger through the hoop
Jump
Start a car engine whose battery by connecting it to another car's battery
Jump
Bypass;
He skipped a row in the text and so the sentence was incomprehensible
Jump
Pass abruptly from one state or topic to another;
Leap into fame
Jump to a conclusion
Jump
Go back and forth; swing back and forth between two states or conditions
Jump
To push oneself off a surface and into the air by using the muscles in one's legs.
The kids love to jump on the trampoline.
Jump
To move suddenly because of surprise or shock.
He would jump every time there was a loud noise.
Jump
Passing over an obstacle by leaping.
The athlete trained hard to jump over the high hurdles.
Common Curiosities
Does jump always indicate a physical movement?
No, phrases like "jump to conclusions" use the word metaphorically to indicate a sudden decision or assumption.
Do both hop and jump refer to a movement off the ground?
Yes, both refer to a movement off the ground, but hop is often lighter and on one foot, while jump is more forceful and often uses both feet.
Can hop indicate a series or sequence of movements?
Yes, for instance, "bar hopping" refers to moving from one bar to another in sequence.
How are animals related to the terms hop and jump?
Animals like rabbits or frogs often "hop", while cats or horses might "jump".
Can jump refer to being startled?
Yes, one might "jump" in surprise or shock.
Is "jump the gun" a physical jump?
No, it's an idiom meaning to do something prematurely.
Is "jumping for joy" a literal jump?
It can be, but it primarily means to be extremely happy or elated.
Can hop also refer to getting onto transportation?
Yes, phrases like "hop on a train" mean to board or get onto that mode of transportation.
Is "hop in" the same as "jump in" when referring to conversations?
Both can mean to join a conversation, but "hop in" might be more casual, while "jump in" could indicate urgency.
How do hop and jump differ in intensity?
Hopping is usually lighter and quicker, while jumping can be more vigorous and forceful.
Do hops and jumps have specific cultural or activity-related significances?
Yes, from ballet dancers doing delicate hops to basketball players making powerful jumps.
Can both hop and jump be used as nouns?
Yes, for instance, "a hop" might refer to a light leap, and "a jump" could mean a more forceful one.
Can "hop" mean to skip over something?
Yes, in contexts like "hop over a step", it means to lightly skip or leap over it.
Can "hop" imply a form of dance?
Yes, certain dance styles or moves involve "hopping" as a form of expression.
Can "jump" be related to increases, like in numbers or levels?
Yes, for example, "a jump in prices" means a significant increase.
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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.
Edited by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
