on the run

Save This Word!

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]

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]

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "WAS" VS. "WERE"!

Were you ready for a quiz on this topic? Well, here it is! See how well you can differentiate between the uses of "was" vs. "were" in this quiz.

Question 1 of 7

“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

true

false

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Words nearby on the run

on the right foot, get off, on the right tack, On the Road, on the rocks, on the ropes, on the run, on the safe side, on the same wavelength, on-the-scene, on the shelf, on the side

How to use on the run in a sentence

Just the hard-on before you shoot unarmed members of the public.
'Babylon' Review: The Dumb Lives of Trigger-Happy Cops|Melissa Leon|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
France 24 is providing live, round-the-clock coverage of both scenes as they progress.
LIVE Coverage of the Paris Terror Attacks||January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
As this list shows, punishments typically run to a short-ish jail sentence and/or a moderately hefty fine.
In Defense of Blasphemy|Michael Tomasky|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Everybody is trapped in an elevator together and tempers run a little hot.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS|Marlow Stern|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Using standard methods, the cost of printing DNA could run upwards of a billion dollars or more, depending on the strand.
Design Your Own Dinosaur: The Era of Custom DNA|Justin Jones|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Do not the widow's tears run down the cheek, and her cry against him that causeth them to fall?
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
Sleek finds it far harder work than fortune-making; but he pursues his Will-o'-the-Wisp with untiring energy.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
A few, very few, little dots had run back over that green patch—the others had passed down into the world of darkness.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
But if what I told him were true, he was still at a loss how a kingdom could run out of its estate like a private person.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
The controlling leaders being out of gear the machine did not run smoothly: there was nothing but friction and tension.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison