on the run
Idioms-
In rapid retreat; also, attempting to escape from pursuers. For example, The guerrillas were on the run after the ambush , or The burglars were on the run from the police . [Early 1800s]
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Hurrying from place to place, as in The company officers were always on the run from New York to Los Angeles and back . [Late 1800s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Messina Denaro spent three decades on the run until his arrest in 2023 as he left a clinic where he was being treated for cancer.
From BBC • May 28, 2026
After he was arrested, the Crumbleys went on the run and were caught only after an extensive manhunt.
From Salon • May 22, 2026
He is constantly on the run, seeking shelter from an ever-shrinking group of allies in nearby states, say people close to the investigation.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
And so the plot tracks Tereza’s episodic adventures on the run, escaping to sail down the river in search of a working airplane.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
They came from just about every tribe in South Africa, all of them on the run from the law because something was wrong with their passbooks or permits.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
