gallop

1 of 2

verb

gal·​lop ˈga-ləp How to pronounce gallop (audio)
galloped; galloping; gallops

intransitive verb

1
: to progress or ride at a gallop
2
: to run fast

transitive verb

1
: to cause to gallop
2
: to transport at a gallop
galloper noun

gallop

2 of 2

noun

1
: a bounding gait of a quadruped
specifically : a fast natural usually 4-beat gait of the horse compare canter entry 3, run
2
: a ride or run at a gallop
3
: a stretch of land suitable for galloping horses
4
: a rapid or hasty progression or pace

Examples of gallop in a Sentence

Verb The horse galloped toward us. He mounted his horse and galloped off to sound the alarm. She galloped her horse toward us. I grabbed my books and galloped out the door. The program gallops through early American history. Noun The horse was at full gallop. He mounted his horse and took off at a gallop. We went for a gallop through the countryside.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Then, as is to be expected in the Game of Thrones universe, there are a flurry of beheadings, horses galloping through brutal battle scenes, bursts of dragon fire, and a stunning shot of two dragons and their riders facing up to each other on an expansive beach. Radhika Seth, Vogue, 5 Mar. 2024 His galloping accompaniment of Mr. Lewis was so unbridled at times that the tempo almost seemed to outrun the two men mid-session. Bill Friskics-Warren, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2024 Two horses galloped around her parents’ double-wide trailer. Emily Gogolak, Harper's Magazine, 9 Jan. 2024 Upon the rough-and-tumble frontier, Reeves — sometimes accompanied by other deputies — is soon seen making arrests, knocking down doors, galloping hard toward trouble and outwitting crooks. Wil Haygood, Washington Post, 2 Nov. 2023 Directed by Wesley Ruggles, who like Scorsese also helmed an adaptation of The Age of Innocence, Cimarron was the first Western to win a best picture statuette — and remained the only one until Dances With Wolves galloped onto the big screen 59 years later. Chris Nashawaty, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Feb. 2024 Protesters had pulled two of the officers off their mounts, and their riderless horses were galloping back across the bridge, toward the Lincoln Memorial. Elliot Ackerman, WIRED, 12 Feb. 2024 Crunchy guitars, galloping rhythm and a ferocious production meld on this confessional grit-country track written by Sam Martinez, Graham Barham, Zack Dyer and Jon Robert Hall. Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 5 Feb. 2024 Teasers for the ad spots show soccer star Lionel Messi ordering a Michelob Ultra at a sandy shack with friends, Budweiser’s iconic Clydesdales galloping in the snow and football fans enjoying bottles of Bud Light. Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 30 Jan. 2024
Noun
Her run is the high-voltage gallop of purpose and thrill. Julia Daye, Kansas City Star, 15 Feb. 2024 Beginning as a brunette, the Fatal Attraction talent, 76, gallops across the screen, before ripping off a wig off to reveal her true identity. Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 3 Feb. 2024 Perhaps a gallop at Griffith Park or lunging — driving a horse around a circle on a rope — in a patch of land called the Pollywog. Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 2023 Sutton had a career-high 86 yards last week against Utah State, most of it on a 62-yard gallop. Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Nov. 2023 The decision was made by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission after Forte went through his routine gallop Saturday morning and a veterinary inspection. Dan Wolken, USA TODAY, 6 May 2023 On Tuesday, Practical Move, winner of the Santa Anita Derby, dropped dead on the track after finishing a gallop. John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2023 At the start, a young girl in a scarlet raincoat traipses across the grass of an English country house as a white horse gallops past, as if out of a vision or a child’s make-believe. Zachary Barnes, WSJ, 27 Oct. 2023 Video taken by Gatlinburg-Pittman High School Head Football Coach Brad Waggoner shows the bear briskly gallop across the field near the end zone at the school in the mountain town of Gatlinburg, known as a gateway to the roughly 520,000-acre Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, 15 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gallop.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English galopen, walopen, borrowed from Anglo-French galoper, gualoper (Picard dialect waloper), perhaps going back to Old Low Franconian *wala hlaupan, literally "to run well," from *wala "well, with good appearance or effect" (going back to Germanic *welō) + *hlaupan "to run," going back to Germanic *hlaup-a- — more at well entry 3, leap entry 1

Note: An alternative explanation sees the Old French noun as primary, and derived from Old Low Franconian *walhlaup-, from *wal- "battlefield" and *hlaup-, a nominal derivative of *hlaupan (hence alluding to a warriorʼs manner of riding on the battlefield). Though the meaning of the first noun is reflected in Old High German wal "battlefield," the general meaning of the Germanic etymon is "the slain, the dead in battle" (see valhalla).

Noun

borrowed from Middle French & Anglo-French galop, noun derivative of galoper "to gallop entry 1"; replacing Middle English walop, borrowed from Anglo-French walop, galop

Note: Alternatively, the noun could be original, and the verb a derivative of the noun. See note at gallop entry 1.

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

1523, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of gallop was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near gallop

Cite this Entry

“Gallop.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gallop. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

gallop

1 of 2 verb
gal·​lop ˈgal-əp How to pronounce gallop (audio)
1
: to go or cause to go at a gallop
2
: to run fast
galloper noun

gallop

2 of 2 noun
1
: a fast bounding gait of a four-footed animal in which all four feet are off the ground at one time once in each stride
especially : a fast gait of the horse with a three-beat or four-beat rhythm
2
: a ride or run at a gallop
3
: a rapid progression or pace

Medical Definition

gallop

1 of 2 intransitive verb
gal·​lop ˈgal-əp How to pronounce gallop (audio)
: to progress or ride at a gallop

transitive verb

: to cause to gallop

gallop

2 of 2 noun
1
: a bounding gait of a quadruped
specifically : a fast natural 3-beat gait of the horse
2

More from Merriam-Webster on gallop

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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