runner

American  

[ruhn-er] / ˈrʌn ər /

noun

• runners
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• runners
  plural

Etymology

Origin of runner

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at 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

See Examples For:

runner runners

As the putative front runner, Braintree MP and former home secretary and foreign secretary James Cleverly has been working the conference circuit very hard.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

In only one of those innings did Atlanta advance a runner beyond first base.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

In a game the Padres trailed 3-2, San Diego hitter Ty France hit a ninth inning moonball with a runner on that sure looked like it could be a take-the-lead, potentially game-winning two-run home run…

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

Once it gets to the final 25 to 30 torchbearers, Wasserman said, each runner has to be “fundamentally important, connected and relevant to what we’re doing.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026

“Well, I’m not the runner that you are—yet. But I signed up to run in the 5K with you. I know you’re doing it for your papa Joseph, and I want to, too.”

From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Tens of thousands of runners fill the streets with spectators cheering them on in each of the city’s boroughs during the annual New York City Marathon, taking place on Nov. 1.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Mitigating factor: The Braves went one for 23 with runners in scoring position.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

The lineup shuffling manager Dave Roberts did against Sale had superstar Shohei Ohtani, batting fifth, walking up to the plate with two outs and runners on first and second.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

Athena said: "Seeing so many young runners give it everything was brilliant. The energy on Glasgow Green was unreal, and every single one of them should be proud of themselves."

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

It sounds like it's coming from the sea of runners.

From "The Sky at Our Feet" by Nadia Hashimi

Related Words

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