Jumping Jacks: Meaning, Benefits & Proper Form

Meaning 1：jump with arms and legs spread (Jumping Jacks)

Jumping Jacks 🔊

/ˈdʒʌmpɪŋ dʒæks/

n. ph.

An exercise where you jump with your legs apart and your arms raised above your head, then return to standing.

Person doing jumping jacks in park at sunrise with arms and legs spread

jump with arms and legs spread 🔊

➕

/dʒʌmp wɪð ɑːmz ænd lɛɡz sprɛd/

n. ph.

A physical exercise performed by jumping to a position with legs spread wide and arms raised overhead, then returning to the starting position.

📁 Category：Physical & Mental Health 🔖 Level：beginner

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

Compound of 'jumping' (present participle of jump) and 'Jacks' (originally a personal name, later generic).

💡 Mnemonic

Imagine a toy puppet with strings: pull arms and legs apart while jumping, then snap back.

📖 Example

My personal trainer always starts our session with 30 seconds of Jumping Jacks to get my heart pumping. 🔊 My personal trainer always starts our session with 30 seconds of Jumping Jacks to get my heart pumping.

🔗 Collocations

do jumping jacks – perform the pushing and sitting motion

20 jumping jacks – twenty repetitions of the exercise

warm up with jumping jacks – use the exercise as a warm-up activity

🔄 Synonyms

star jumps (n. pl.) – Synonymous term for jumping jacks, common in British English.

jumping exercise (n.) – General term for any calisthenic that involves jumping.

full-body jump (n.) – A jump that engages the entire body, similar to jumping jacks.

🚫 Antonyms

static stretch (n.) – A motionless muscle stretch, opposite of dynamic jumping.

rest (n.) – Period of inactivity, opposite of active exercise.

🌱 Derivatives

jumping jack (n.) – Single instance of the exercise.

📖 Cultural Story

Invented by John J. Pershing's troops in WWI as calisthenics, later named after the jump toy 'jumping jack' from the 18th century.