Meanings
present singular third person jumps through hoops · participle present jumping through hoops · participle past jumped through hoops · past jumped through hoops · alternative go through hoops · alternative leap through hoops
- idiomaticTo put forth great effort to meet requirements, usually arbitrary, set by someone.
They really made the salesman jump through hoops before buying anything.
3 more examples
If learning is deemed valuable and important to the student, then the educator doesn't need a scripted curriculum or a fad initiative that has students and the educator jumping through hoops.
2010, Brad Johnson, Tammy Maxson McElroy, The Edutainer: Connecting the Art and Science of Teaching, page 141If a government says to citizens, “We will punish you for abstaining, unless you jump through the following legal hoops,” it is still coercing citizens.
2014, Jason Brennan, Lisa Hill, Compulsory Voting: For and Against, page 19Caregivers also described having to “jump through hoops” to accomplish what they needed.
2020, Kevin J. Mahoney, Ellen K. Mahoney, Michelle Putnam, Self-Direction in Long Term Services and SupportsSynonyms: bend over backwards
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo put forth great effort to meet requirements, usually arbitrary, set by someone.
Origin
Reminiscent of a circus animal performing tricks by jumping through hoops.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
jump through hoops. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jump%20through%20hoops
“jump through hoops.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jump%20through%20hoops. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “jump through hoops,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jump%20through%20hoops.
Source: jump through hoops on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.