COMMON If you get a jump on someone or something, or get the jump on them, you gain an advantage by doing something before other people or before something happens. This year, many stores got a jump on the shopping season by holding promotional sales even before Thanksgiving. The Greek runner got the jump on him and, with two laps to go, led by 1.8 seconds. Note: Other verbs such as have are sometimes used instead of get. Schools in the upper part of Florida are playing games now while we haven't even had a chance to practise, so they're going to have a jump on us. Note: This expression refers to a competitor in a running race leaving the starting blocks ahead of the other competitors.