hopscotch
hopscotch Lexical Profile
hopscotch Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A children's game in which each player tosses a small object into numbered spaces of a pattern of rectangles outlined on the ground and then hops or jumps through the spaces to retrieve the object.
"The children used colorful sidewalk chalk to draw a hopscotch grid on the pavement."
• verb
To move or travel erratically or in a series of short jumps from one place, topic, or activity to another.
"Over the summer, the backpackers hopscotched across several Mediterranean islands."
To play the game of hopscotch, or to hop as if playing hopscotch.
"She hopscotched down the hallway while waiting for her friends to arrive."
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in the late 17th century from the verb 'hop' and the noun 'scotch' (meaning an incised line or scratch), referring to the lines scratched on the ground over which players hop.