run short

Idioms  

1. Use something up so that a supply runs out or becomes insufficient, as in We ran short of envelopes, or The organization is running short of money. [Mid-1700s]

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

run short

The shutdown has dragged on for months, and the department says it will soon run short of money External link needed to pay its roughly 50,000 Transportation Security Administration workers.

From Barron's ● Apr. 24, 2026

Social Security’s trust fund supporting seniors is expected to run short of money in a few short years, resulting in benefit cuts of 22.5% in 2033, according to the Trustees report released in June.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 17, 2026

But a UAW official told members in a Facebook post Monday that the Kentucky plant producing the Super Duty pickups “may run short today, tonight, and possibly over the next few shifts.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2025

Crawley set the tone, helping them race to 49 without loss by the end of the powerplay, before falling just one run short of a fifty.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2025

“Our neighbors are the Kecoughtans, our friends, and the Warraskoyacks—I know everyone in the village by name. I can trade if we run short of food....”

From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---