MEANING
An action taken without knowing enough to predict its outcome or consequences.
Use it for
taking a chance without enough information; making an uncertain commitment; acting without knowing what will happen; entering an unfamiliar situationNames a consequential step taken without enough knowledge to predict the outcome. Writing functions: Risk under uncertainty. Semantic categories (by meaning): Risk; Uncertainty. Contexts: General conversation; Creative prose.
Words that belong together
- take a leap in the dark
- make a leap in the dark
On the page
Buying the workshop without seeing its accounts was a leap in the dark.
For someone who had never left home, the overseas post felt like a leap in the dark.
Word forms
- Base
- a leap in the dark
Usage notes
Countable noun phrase: a leap in the dark; plural leaps in the dark. Often take or make a leap in the dark. Register: neutral. Commonness: moderately common (qualitative editorial estimate, informed by dictionaries/corpus).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
Keep a thought for later. Sign in to save privately.