- past tense form of run.
ran
1 Americanverb
noun
abbreviation
verb
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.
See Examples For:
County officials said voters weren’t questioned and polling places ran normally despite the brief ICE presence nearby.
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026
Handed the reins for the first time since middle school, Mestemaker threw 34 touchdowns, ran for five more and passed for 4,379 yards—the most in the country.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
The pair ran their own surrogacy company and are accused of making false statements to at least two women who became surrogates, indicating that Zhang was struggling to conceive, according to the criminal complaint.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Kaluuya embodies Jay, newly released from a psychiatric hospital because Misty ran out of money to pay the bill, all the way down to the marrow.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
The river ran fast and smooth on its way to the falls.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
![]()
Ran Ben-Shimon was appointed as the senior side's head coach in 2024.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Ran lean today and got the job done.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 28, 2026
"Many generations will draw inspiration from Ran Gvili, a hero of Israel, and from all our other heroes... This is the generation of heroism. This is the generation of victory."
From Barron's ● Jan. 28, 2026
The remains of Ran Gvili, an Israeli military police sergeant who was killed and whose body was stolen to Gaza during the Hamas-led attack, were identified after a monthslong recovery effort.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 26, 2026
The British were coming back, but once again Ran Laurie, with his narrow-bladed oar, was having a difficult time getting enough of a catch to help power his shell through the wind and waves.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
![]()
The mandate also calls for more efforts to accelerate next-generation technologies including quantum innovation, AI and radio access network, known as Cloud RAN.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2025
"As soon as he saw me and heard me call his name out, he turned around and RAN back inside the house through the same door in the garage," Herrera describes.
From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2022
“A few minutes later I saw Mr. Paxton RAN from the door inside the garage towards the rear door behind the driver side,” Mr. Herrera wrote.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 27, 2022
"A few minutes later I saw Mr. Paxton RAN from the door inside the garage towards the rear door behind the driver side," he writes.
From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2022
Fifty Thoughtful little ladies, All lovers of book-lore, Ten RAN in-to Cole's Book Arcade, And there remained two-score.
From Cole's Funny Picture Book No. 1 by E. W. (Edward William) Cole
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.