run in place

Idioms  

1. Work or exert oneself without noticeable change or progress. For example, I've worked on this project for months but feel I'm running in place. This idiom employs in place in the sense of “on one spot,” a usage dating from the late 1200s.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

run in place

Cochran would have liked “Race Against the Machines,” a station that calculates how quickly visitors run in place.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 12, 2022

Alterative road transport will run in place of cancelled services, it said.

From BBC ● Jan. 20, 2021

Or, technically, run in place — you don't want to ram into your TV.

From Salon ● Feb. 29, 2020

The boys box the air and run in place; a few look self-conscious, their movements slow and awkward.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2019

Then, he jumped up from the floor and began to run in place.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy