saltate
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb (intransitive):
- To move by leaping, jumping, or skipping. This often describes a specific, bouncing type of motion, as seen in some animals, dances, or particles.
- Verb (transitive):
- To cause something to move in a series of leaps or bounces, often through an external force like wind or water.
Usage and Examples
- Verb (intransitive):
- The grasshoppers saltate across the field.
- In some traditional dances, the performers appear to saltate rather than walk.
- Verb (transitive):
- Strong winds can saltate sand grains across the desert surface.
- The flowing water saltated the small pebbles along the stream bed.
Advanced Usage
- Scientific/Technical Context: The term is frequently used in geology, fluid dynamics, and biology to describe a specific mode of particle transport or locomotion.
- In aeolian processes, fine sediment begins to saltate when wind velocity exceeds a certain threshold.
- Figurative Use (rare): It can be used poetically or figuratively to describe a rapid, jumping progression.
- Her thoughts seemed to saltate from one idea to the next.
Variants and Related Words
- Saltation (noun): The act or process of leaping, or the movement of particles in a series of jumps.
- The saltation of sand is a key factor in dune formation.
- Saltatorial (adjective): Adapted for or characterized by leaping.
- Kangaroos have powerful saltatorial hind legs.
Synonyms
- Leap
- Bound
- Hop
- Skip
- Prance (especially for dancing)
- Bounce (for particles)
Antonyms
- Glide
- Slide
- Flow
- Crawl
- Creep
Verb
- leap or skip, often in dancing
- These fish swim with a saltating motion
- move by saltation
- The sand grains are saltated by the wind