run over
Britishverb
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(tr, adverb) to knock down (a person) with a moving vehicle
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(intr) to overflow the capacity of (a container)
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(intr, preposition) to examine hastily or make a rapid survey of
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(intr, preposition) to exceed (a limit)
we've run over our time
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Knock down and, often, pass over, as in The car ran over our dog . [First half of 1900s]
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Review quickly, as in I'll run over the speech one more time . [Early 1600s]
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Overflow, as in This pot's running over . This usage appears in the well-known Twenty-third Psalm: “My cup runneth over [with God's bounty].”
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Go beyond, exceed, as in I've run over the allotted time, but there are still questions . [Early 1500s]
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.
Last year, an inquest ruled that a man who had been run over by seven Tube trains at Stratford station died accidentally.
From BBC • Mar. 6, 2026
Wrobleski has also not allowed a run over three innings of work in two Cactus League appearances, including one start.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 5, 2026
“We are cognizant of trying to understand which companies could get run over by AI and those that have a value proposition for consumers,” he said.
From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026
A poll of top investors who collectively run over $1 trillion in assets finds they are putting most of their hedge-fund money into so-called quantitative funds that trade based on complex algorithms and machine learning.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 30, 2026
I gobbled down half the sandwich and let my hand run over one stack of newspapers after another.
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
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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.