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

You could possibly run out of money in that extreme case, but you would always have Social Security and could rely on a social safety net like Medicaid if you run out of funds.

From MarketWatch • Jul. 8, 2026

After fighting back to beat Bosnia's Damir Dzumhur and Finland's Otto Virtanen in his first two matches, it seemed as though Fery had finally run out of steam against Belgium's Bergs.

From BBC • Jul. 4, 2026

“It seems like the really big food creators were doing recipes, and now they’ve run out of recipes and they’re doing other stuff,” says Celenza.

From Salon • Jul. 2, 2026

Trading floors remain edgy after a recent run of volatility fuelled by concerns that the artificial intelligence boom that has underpinned a global rally may have run out of steam.

From Barron's • Jul. 2, 2026

But by 2:53 that afternoon, less than an hour before the explosion, they had run out of fresh water to inject.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland

Related Words

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