leap of faith
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leap
(lēp)v. leaped or leapt (lĕpt, lēpt), leap·ing, leaps
v.intr.
1.
a. To propel oneself quickly upward or a long way; spring or jump: The goat leaped over the wall. The salmon leapt across the barrier.
b. To move quickly or suddenly: leaped out of his chair to answer the door.
2.
a. To change quickly or abruptly from one condition or subject to another: always leaping to conclusions.
b. To act quickly or impulsively: leaped at the opportunity to travel.
c. To enter eagerly into an activity; plunge: leapt into the project with both feet.
v.tr.
1. To propel oneself over: I couldn't leap the brook.
2. To cause to leap: She leapt her horse over the hurdle.
n.
Phrasal Verb: 1.
a. The act of leaping; a jump.
b. A place jumped over or from.
c. The distance cleared in a leap.
2. An abrupt or precipitous passage, shift, or transition: a leap from rags to riches.
leap out
Idioms: To be readily noticed: The sign leapt out at us from the window.
by leaps and bounds
Very quickly: growing by leaps and bounds.
leap in the dark
An act whose consequences cannot be predicted.
leap of faith
The act or an instance of believing or trusting in something intangible or incapable of being proved.
[Middle English lepen, from Old English hlēapan.]
leap′er n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
leap of faith
n → Vertrauensvorschuss m; to take or make a leap of faith → einen Vertrauensvorschuss gewähren; it takes a considerable leap of faith to believe that … → man muss schon eine Menge Vertrauen aufbringen, um zu glauben, dass …
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007