runabout

[ ruhn-uh-bout ]

/ ˈrʌn əˌbaʊt /

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noun

a small, light automobile or other vehicle, usually with an open top; roadster.

a small pleasure motorboat.

a person who roves around from place to place or group to group.

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Origin of runabout

First recorded in 1540–50; noun use of verb phrase run about

Words nearby runabout

rumrunner, Rumsey, Rumsfeld, rum shop, run, runabout, run across, run a fever, run afoul of, run after, run against

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use runabout in a sentence

Zipping around on “rovers”—a vast category of electric, automated runabouts that includes bikes, scooters, and even wheelchairs—is the way to go now.
The Self-Driving Car Is a Red Herring - Issue 92: Frontiers|Anthony Townsend|October 21, 2020|Nautilus
Isnt that Mrs. Prenticethe very rich Mrs. Prenticein her electric runabout?
The Girls of Central High on the Stage|Gertrude W. Morrison
Then she saw that Jim had left the runabout himself and was now between the shafts of a small low wagon, drawing it into the road.
Dorothy at Skyrie|Evelyn Raymond
The man named Dangler followed the runabout to the road and watched it disappear around a turn bordered by trees.
The Rover Boys on the Farm|Arthur M. Winfield (AKA Edward Stratemeyer)

Dangler watched the runabout and then gazed up and down the mountain for several minutes.
The Rover Boys on the Farm|Arthur M. Winfield (AKA Edward Stratemeyer)
There was one from a village called Bahan, saying a green runabout with two men had passed through there about midnight.
The Rover Boys on the Farm|Arthur M. Winfield (AKA Edward Stratemeyer)

British Dictionary definitions for runabout

runabout

/ (ˈrʌnəˌbaʊt) /

noun

a small car, esp one for use in a town

a light aircraft

a light motorboat

a person who moves about constantly or busily

verb run about

(intr, adverb) to move busily from place to place

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012