run out of

Idioms  

1. Exhaust a supply or quantity of, as in We're about to run out of coffee and sugar. This expression, dating from about 1700, can be used both literally and figuratively. Thus run out of gas may mean one no longer has any fuel, but it has also acquired the figurative sense of exhausting a supply of energy, enthusiasm, or support, and hence causing some activity to come to a halt. For example, After running ten laps I ran out of gas and had to rest to catch my breath, or The economic recovery seems to have run out of gas. On the other hand, run out of steam, originally alluding to a steam engine, today is used only figuratively to indicate a depletion of energy of any kind.

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Example Sentences

None of that has been cleaned up as Thompson has fought with her insurer, State Farm General, over the extent of the remediation — and she now worries she will run out of insurer rent payments while the claim drags on.

From Los Angeles Times

Its latest cash flow forecast, from Jan. 3, said First Brands projects that it will run out of cash by the first week of February unless it secures more financing.

From The Wall Street Journal

Many of the cancelled flights were operated by Dutch airline KLM, which warned it had nearly run out of de-icing fluid for its aircraft.

From BBC

In the blockade simulations at CSIS, the main issue wasn’t that Taiwan would run out of food but that it would quickly run out of energy.

From MarketWatch

Diners were disappointed to learn that the restaurant had run out of pie before noon.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• absorb
• deplete
• devour
• dominate
• drain
• eat up
• employ
• exhaust
• expend
• obsess
• preoccupy
• spend
• waste