run-on

[ ruhn-on, -awn ]

/ ˈrʌnˌɒn, -ˌɔn /

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adjective

of or designating something that is added or run on: a run-on entry in a dictionary.

Prosody. (of a line of verse) having a thought that carries over to the next line, especially without a syntactical break.

noun

run-on matter.

Automotive. after-run.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "IS" VS. "ARE"

"Is" it time for a new quiz? "Are" you ready? Then prove your excellent skills on using "is" vs. "are."

Question 1 of 7

IS and ARE are both forms of which verb?

have

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of run-on

First recorded in 1900–05; adj., noun use of verb phrase run on

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use run-on 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
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

Should lightning strike and Hillary Clinton forgoes a presidential run, Democrats have a nominee in waiting.
Sen. Warren’s Main Street Crusade to Pressure Clinton|Eleanor Clift|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
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
When 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-on

run on

verb (adverb)

(intr) to continue without interruption

to write with linked-up characters

printing to compose text matter without indentation or paragraphing

noun run-on

printing

text matter composed without indenting
(as modifier)run-on text matter

a word added at the end of a dictionary entry whose meaning can be easily inferred from the definition of the headword
(as modifier)a run-on entry

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with run-on

run on

Keep going, continue; also, remain in effect. For example, That murder trial has been running on for months, or How much longer can this debt be allowed to run on? [Late 1500s]

Talk at length; see go on, def. 5.

Continue a text without a break; see run in, def. 2.