runner

American  

[ruhn-er] / ˈrʌn ər /

noun

1. a person, animal, or thing that runs, especially as a racer.

2. a messenger.

3. a messenger of a bank or brokerage house.

4. Baseball. base runner.

5. Football. the ball-carrier.

6. a person whose business it is to solicit patronage or trade.

7. a person acting as collector, agent, or the like, for a bank, broker, etc.

8. something in or on which something else runs or moves.

9. either of the long, bladelike strips of metal or wood on which a sled or sleigh slides.

10. the blade of an ice skate.

11. the rotating system of blades driven by the fluid passing through a reaction turbine.

12. the rotating member of a pair of millstones.

13. a roller on which something moves along.

14. Furniture.

    1. a sliding piece, as a loper.

    2. rocker.

15. an operator or manager, as of a machine.

16. a long, narrow rug, suitable for a hall or passageway.

17. a long, narrow strip of line, embroidery, lace, or the like, placed across a table.

18. Botany.

    1. a slender stolon that runs along the surface of the ground and sends out roots and leaves at the nodes, as in the strawberry.

    2. a plant that spreads by such stems.

19. Metallurgy. any of the channels through which molten metal flows.

20. a smuggler.

21. a vessel engaged in smuggling.

22. a person who takes, transmits, and often pays off bets for a bookmaker or a numbers pool.

23. Ichthyology. a jurel, Caranx crysos, inhabiting waters from Cape Cod to Brazil.

24. Building Trades. a horizontal longitudinal timber resting upon the uprights of a staging and supporting the footing pieces.

25. Theater. a piece of carpet or matting placed in the wings for deadening offstage sounds.

26. a tackle or part of a tackle consisting of a line rove through a single block and fixed at one end.

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runner British  

/ ˈrʌnə /

noun

1. a person who runs, esp an athlete

2. a messenger for a bank or brokerage firm

3. an employee of an art or antique dealer who visits auctions to bid on desired lots

4. a person engaged in the solicitation of business

5. a person on the run; fugitive

6. 1. a person or vessel engaged in smuggling; smuggler

   2. ( in combination )

      a rum-runner

7. a person who operates, manages, or controls something

8. 1. either of the strips of metal or wood on which a sledge runs

   2. the blade of an ice skate

9. a roller or guide for a sliding component

10. a channel through which molten material enters a casting or moulding

11. the rotating element of a water turbine

12. another name for running belay

13. any of various carangid fishes of temperate and tropical seas, such as Caranx crysos ( blue runner ) of American Atlantic waters

14. botany

    1. a slender stem with very long internodes, as of the strawberry, that arches down to the ground and propagates by producing roots and shoots at the nodes or tip

    2. a plant that propagates in this way

15. a strip of lace, linen, etc, placed across a table, dressing table, etc for protection and decoration

16. a narrow rug or carpet, as for a passage

17. another word for rocker

18. slang to run away in order to escape trouble or to avoid paying for something

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runner Scientific  

/ rŭn′ər /

1. A slender stem that grows horizontally and puts down roots to form new plants. Strawberries spread by runners.

2. Also called stolon

3. Compare bulb corm rhizome tuber

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Etymology

Origin of runner

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; run, -er ¹

Explanation

If you jog every morning or run with your school's cross country team, you're a runner. A runner is a person who runs. A casual runner jogs around the block or chases their dog on the beach. If you train to run in the Olympics, you're also a runner, and if you play baseball, you're a runner when you're moving from first to second base. Plants send out something also called a runner — a new shoot that sits on top of the ground and roots itself there. A strip of carpet down the hall or stairs is yet another kind of runner.

Example Sentences

John: A last-minute runner replacing last year's winner Nick Rockett.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026

Kempczinski, an avid marathon runner who had joined the company just a few years earlier, hadn’t been part of the late-night socializing of the previous regime.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

Woo cleared the base paths after picking off the runner for the second out of the inning.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2026

I’m not aghast at the automatic extra-innings runner.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

But then, not looking to the right or left, she did not see the runner stealing home base.

From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord

Related Words

• contestant
• entrant
• hurdler
• marathoner
• racer
• sprinter