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

The time, in minutes and seconds, logged by Scottish runner Josh Kerr to set a new mile world record in London—shattering a mark that had stood untouched for 27 years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

Last month, the BBC said it was cancelling this year's Christmas special, at the same time as show runner Russel T Davies announced he was leaving the long-running sci-fi show.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

A former star student and long-distance runner from a prominent family in Amarillo, Texas, Griffin goes into her first session with a competitor’s single-minded determination to, as she writes, “get to the finish line.”

From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2026

With two outs and a runner on, Sasaki threw a splitter on the inside edge of the strike zone to Gunnar Henderson, who homered to right field.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2026

Her grandmother wears a bright pink track suit because she’s a master runner in marathons.

From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina

Dalton Rushing laid down a bunt with runners on the corners.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

Even today, the number of runners who have posted a four-minute mile is smaller than the number of people who have scaled Mount Everest.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Twenty-three runners from seven countries took part in races at the Arctic's geographic North Pole, organisers have said, in an event they dubbed as the "world's coolest marathon".

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

The two runners up will receive £250,000 each to carry out part of their programme.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

The coach took the four relay runners to Franklin Field in his car.

From "Crash" by Jerry Spinelli

Related Words

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