hopscotch

[ hop-skoch ]

noun

1. a children's game in which a player tosses or kicks a small flat stone, beanbag, or other object into one of several numbered sections of a diagram marked on the pavement or ground and then hops hop on one foot over the lines from section to section and picks up the stone or object, usually while standing on one foot in an adjacent section.

verb (used without object)

, Informal.

1. to jump or leap from one place to another:

   Small birds hopscotched on the lawn.

2. to journey quickly and directly from one usually far place to another:

   ambassadors hopscotching from Moscow to Paris to London.

3. to move or pass through something, as a geographical area or a field of endeavor, making many brief stops:

   The candidate hopscotched through four states in two days.

4. to shift from one thing to another quickly or abruptly:

   The story hopscotches from the present to the past in a confusing way.

verb (used with object)

, Informal.

1. to jump or leap over.
2. to cross over (a large area or distance) in one continuous action:

   She hopscotches the country in her private plane.

3. to cross or travel through erratically or abruptly:

   The escaped convicts hopscotched the valley.

hopscotch

/ ˈhɒpˌskɒtʃ /

noun

1. a children's game in which a player throws a small stone or other object to land in one of a pattern of squares marked on the ground and then hops over to it to pick it up

Word History and Origins

Origin of hopscotch¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; hop ¹ + scotch ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of hopscotch¹

C19: hop ¹+ scotch ¹

Example Sentences

Registering for another race or resuming training too soon just becomes a hopscotch move over processing what you just accomplished.

From Outside Online

The street is closed to traffic and kids run unfettered across inviting hopscotch squares and bicycle lanes.

From The Daily Beast

Our own Rx includes fat, colored chalk for drawing hopscotch boxes, plus Whiffle Ball and water balloons.

From The Daily Beast

You'll feel weaker still if Hopscotch comes in and finds you with nothing unpacked!

From Project Gutenberg

Queke was probably a kind of hopscotch, and penny-prick a tossing game; both enjoyed an evil repute, according to Strutt.

From Project Gutenberg

The girls (and sometimes the boys) play a very elaborate kind of hopscotch.

From Project Gutenberg

We p. 71played hopscotch, which is good training for the calves of the legs.

From Project Gutenberg

Of children's games, that known as "Hopscotch" was originally a religious rite practised at funerals.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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• trek