run
- to take part in a race or contest.
- to finish in a race or contest in a certain numerical position: The horse ran second.
- to accumulate, follow, or become payable in due course, as interest on a debt: Your interest runs from January 1st to December 31st.
- to make many withdrawals in rapid succession, as from a bank.
- to have legal force or effect, as a writ.
- to continue to operate.
- to go along with: The easement runs with the land.
- bomb run.
- any portion of a military flight during which the aircraft flies directly toward the target in order to begin its attack: a strafing run.
- the rapid movement, under its own power, of an aircraft on a runway, water, or another surface.
- a routine flight from one place to another: the evening run from New York to London.
- the horizontal distance between the face of a wall and the ridge of a roof.
- the distance between the first and last risers of a flight of steps or staircase.
- the horizontal distance between successive risers on a flight of steps or a staircase.
- to follow; chase: The dog ran after the burglar.
- to pursue or court the affections of, especially in an aggressive manner: He ran after her until she agreed to marry him.
- to attempt to become friendly with or part of the society of: He runs after the country-club set.
- (often followed by with) to socialize; consort with: She runs around with the strangest people.
- to be unfaithful to one's spouse or lover: It was common knowledge that he was running around.
- to flee or escape; leave a place of confinement or control with the intention of never returning: He ran away from home three times.
- Nautical. to haul on a line by walking or running steadily.
- to go away with, especially to elope with: She ran away with a sailor.
- to abscond with; steal: to run away with some valuable jewelry.
- to surpass others in; be outstanding in: to run away with academic honors.
- to overwhelm; get the better of: Sometimes his enthusiasm runs away with him.
- to strike and fell or overturn, especially to drive a vehicle into (someone): to run down an innocent pedestrian.
- to pursue until captured; chase: The detective swore that he would run down the criminal.
- to peruse; review: His eyes ran down the front row and stopped suddenly.
- to cease operation; stop: My watch has run down.
- to speak disparagingly of; criticize severely: The students were always running down their math teacher.
- to search out; trace; find: to run down information.
- Baseball. to tag out (a base runner) between bases.
- Nautical. to collide with and sink (another vessel).
- Nautical. to sail closely parallel to (a coast).
- to visit casually: If I'm in the neighborhood, I may run in for a few minutes.
- to include in a text, as something to be inserted.
- Slang. to arrest; take to jail: They ran him in for burglary.
- Printing. to add (matter) to text without indenting.
- to break in (new machinery).
- to crash into; collide with: She was so sleepy that she ran into a lamppost.
- to meet accidentally: You never know whom you'll run into at a big party.
- to amount to; total: losses that ran into millions of dollars.
- to succeed; follow: One year ran into the next, and still there was no change.
- to experience; encounter: The project ran into difficulty.
- to leave quickly; depart: When he realized the time, he ran off with barely a "good-bye," hoping to catch his bus.
- to create or perform rapidly or easily: to run off a new song.
- to determine the winner of (a contest, race, etc.) by a runoff.
- to drive away; expel: to run someone off one's property.
- to print or otherwise duplicate: Please run off 500 copies.
- to abscond with (something); steal or borrow; take: He ran off with the money. Who ran off with the pencil sharpener?
- to elope: I hear she ran off with the Smith boy.
- to continue without interruption: The account that he gave ran on at some length.
- Printing. to add (matter) to text without indenting.
- to add something, as at the end of a text: to run on an adverb to a dictionary entry.
- to terminate; expire: My subscription ran out last month. Time ran out before we could score another touchdown.
- to become used up: His money soon ran out.
- to drive out; expel: They want to run him out of the country.
- to hit and knock down, especially with a vehicle: She cried inconsolably when her cat was run over by a car.
- to go beyond; exceed: His speech ran over the time limit.
- to repeat; review: We'll run over that song again.
- to overflow, as a vessel: The gravy boat ran over when she took her eye off the pan she was filling it from.
- to pierce or stab, as with a sword: to run someone through.
- to consume or use up recklessly; squander: to run through a fortune.
- to practice, review, or rehearse quickly or informally: to run through a scene.
- to sew rapidly: She ran up some curtains.
- to amass; incur: running up huge debts.
- to cause to increase; raise: to run up costs unnecessarily.
- to build, especially hurriedly: They are tearing down old tenement blocks and running up skyscrapers.
- to proceed or go ahead with: If the stockholders like the idea, we'll run with it.
- to carry out with enthusiasm or speed.
Idioms about run
- close or keen competition: The out-of-town team gave us a run for our money.
- enjoyment or profit in return for one's expense: This may not be the best tool kit, but it will give you a run for your money.
- moving quickly; hurrying about: He's so busy, he's always on the run.
- while running or in a hurry: I usually eat breakfast on the run.
- escaping or hiding from the police: He was on the run for two years.
- Nautical. to collide with so as to cause damage and entanglement.
- to incur or become subject to the wrath or ill will of: to run afoul of the law; He argued with his father and has run afoul of him ever since.
- to go through the motions of running without leaving one's original place, as on a treadmill: joggers running in place at red lights.
- to exist or work without noticeable change, progress, or improvement: By the end of the third meeting, it was clear that no progress had been made and the committee was just running in place.
- to exhaust or lose one's energy, enthusiasm, etc.: After the first game of tennis, I ran out of gas and had to rest.
- to falter for lack of impetus, ideas, capital, etc.: The economic recovery seems to be running out of gas.
Origin of run
OTHER WORDS FROM run
run·na·ble, adjectiverun·na·bil·i·ty, nounnon·run, adjectivewell-run, adjectiveWords nearby run
How to use run in a sentence
McSally ran for Senate in 2018 but lost to Democrat Kyrsten Sinema.
Election live updates: Trump returns to Wisconsin; Biden to face live audience at town hall|Colby Itkowitz, Felicia Sonmez, John Wagner|September 17, 2020|Washington PostHe unsuccessfully ran for the Republican presidential nomination during the 2016 election cycle.
New York food impresario Tom Colicchio got into all of our living rooms with his 17-season run as the head judge on Top Chef.
Tom Colicchio Hopes (and Fears) COVID-19 Will Change the Restaurant Industry|Pallabi Munsi|September 16, 2020|OzyWhile Fraser is not the first woman to run one of the country’s top 20 banks—KeyCorp’s Beth Mooney, who retired in May, broke that ceiling—she is the first to run one of Citigroup’s size.
‘It has to have an impact’: What Citi’s new CEO means for other women on Wall Street|Maria Aspan|September 16, 2020|Fortune
With a massive influx of Israeli tourism expected now that commercial flights are running, many are expecting the demand for kosher food to grow.
As this list shows, punishments typically run to a short-ish jail sentence and/or a moderately hefty fine.
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 BEASTUsing standard methods, the cost of printing DNA could run upwards of a billion dollars or more, depending on the strand.
Should lightning strike and Hillary Clinton forgoes a presidential run, Democrats have a nominee in waiting.
The decision not to run the cartoons is motivated by nothing more than fear: either fear of offending or fear of retaliation.
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|VariousA 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 HamiltonBut 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 SwiftThe 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-PattisonWhen these last words of his were interpreted to her, she started, made as if she would run after him, but checked herself.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
British Dictionary definitions for run
- (of a two-legged creature) to move on foot at a rapid pace so that both feet are off the ground together for part of each stride
- (of a four-legged creature) to move at a rapid gait; gallop or canter
- to have legal force or effectthe lease runs for two more years
- to accompany; be an integral part of or adjunct toan easement runs with the land
- to melt or fuse
- (tr) to mould or cast (molten metal)to run lead into ingots
- to migrate upstream from the sea, esp in order to spawn
- to swim rapidly in any area of water, esp during migration
- a period of time during which a machine, computer, etc, operates
- the amount of work performed in such a period
- a continuous vein or seam of ore, coal, etc
- the direction in which it lies
- a period during which water or other liquid flows
- the amount of such a flow
- the tack of a sailing vessel in which the wind comes from astern
- part of the hull of a vessel near the stern where it curves upwards and inwards
- a mission in a warplane
- short for bombing run
- a strong challenge or close competition
- pleasure derived from an activity
- escaping from arrest; fugitive
- in rapid flight; retreatingthe enemy is on the run
- hurrying from place to placeshe's always on the run
Word Origin for run
Other Idioms and Phrases with run
In addition to the idioms beginning with run
- run across
- run a fever
- run afoul of
- run after
- run against
- run along
- run amok
- run an errand
- run a risk
- run around
- run around in circles
- run around like a chicken
- run around with
- run a temperature
- run a tight ship
- run away
- run away with
- run by someone
- run circles around
- run counter to
- run down
- run dry
- run for it
- run for one's money, a
- run foul
- run high
- run in
- run in place
- run interference
- run in the blood
- run into
- run into a stone wall
- run into the ground
- run its course
- run like clockwork
- running on empty
- running start
- run off
- run off at the mouth
- run off with
- run of luck
- run of the mill
- run on
- run one ragged
- run one's eyes over
- run one's head against the wall
- run one's own show
- run out
- run out of
- run out on
- run over
- run rings around
- run riot
- run scared
- run short
- run someone in
- run someone off his or her feet
- run the gamut
- run the gauntlet
- run the show
- run through
- run to
- run to earth
- run to form
- run to seed
- run up
- run wild
- run with
also see:
- beat (run) one's head against the wall
- cut and run
- dry run
- eat and run
- end run
- go (run) around in circles
- great minds (run in the same channel)
- home run
- in the long run
- like clockwork, run
- make a break (run) for
- make one's blood run cold
- (run) off someone's feet
- on the run
- still waters run deep
- tight ship, run a
- well's run dry
Also see underrunning.