gallop

/ˈgæləp/

/ˈgæləp/

Other forms: galloped; galloping; gallops

A gallop is a horse's fastest gait, a full-on run. A loud noise might cause a trotting horse to panic and break into a gallop.

Any four-legged animal can run at a gallop, although the word most often describes horses and ponies. To run this way is also to gallop: "I watched the horses gallop around the track." You can even use the word to emphasize a person's fast and heavy gait: "My little brother has to gallop around the house a few times before he'll go to bed."

Definitions of gallop

1. noun

   a fast gait of a horse; a two-beat stride during which all four legs are off the ground simultaneously
   type of:

   gait

   a horse's manner of moving
2. verb

   cause to move at full gallop
   “Did you gallop the horse just now?”

   synonyms: extend

   type of:

   ride, sit

   sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
3. verb

   ride at a galloping pace
   “He was galloping down the road”

   type of:

   ride horseback

   ride on horseback
4. verb

   go at galloping speed
   “The horse was galloping along”

   type of:

   pace

   go at a pace