run a fever

Idioms  

1. Also, run a temperature. Suffer from a body temperature higher than normal, as in She was running a fever so I kept her home from school. These idioms use run in the sense of “cause to move,” in this case upward. [Early 1900s]

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Example Sentences

In March, the pontiff spent a few days in the same hospital for intravenous antibiotic treatment of bronchitis that had caused Francis to run a fever.

From Washington Times • Jun. 11, 2023

You may still run a fever and experience exhaustion, a sore throat, brain fog and other symptoms.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 25, 2022

As McNeil explains, if you run a fever in China, you are sent to a fever clinic, where you are: tested for the coronavirus.

From Slate • May 20, 2020

She had just had her 3-year-old son tested after he had run a fever for three months, and doctors had confirmed that he was H.I.V.-positive.

From New York Times • Oct. 26, 2019

Not surprisingly, Mrs. Roosevelt began to run a fever.

From Time Magazine Archive