running mate
Americannoun
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a candidate for an office linked with another and more important office, as for the vice-presidency.
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a horse entered in a race in which another, more important, horse from the same stable, or belonging to the same owner, is run.
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a close companion.
noun
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a candidate for the subordinate of two linked positions, esp a candidate for the vice-presidency
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a horse that pairs another in a team
Etymology
Origin of running mate
An Americanism dating back to 1865–70
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
His camp has said he is mulling a female running mate.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
Hilton said he expects Bonta to lose to his Republican running mate for attorney general, Michael Gates.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
Pritzker elevated Stratton to be his running mate in 2017 when she was just seven months into her first term as a state representative.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
He might serve as Vance’s running mate, I guess, but both in Munich and in general he strikes me more as a chirrupy Robin to JD’s would-be Dark Knight.
From Salon ● Feb. 22, 2026
All this left me more energized to help make the final push for Barack and Joe Biden, the affable senator from Delaware who’d soon be announced as his running mate.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
