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.
Flavio's press advisor said he would seek a woman running mate, possibly from the poor northeast -- Lula's stronghold.
From Barron's • Mar. 11, 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
In a different world, he suggested, Gabbard might have been Sanders’ running mate.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 4, 2026
Plainly the protests complicated Kamala Harris’s task of finding a running mate.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 21, 2026
By the time he finished, with a last plug for John Kerry and his running mate, John Edwards, the crowd was on its feet and roaring, the applause booming in the rafters.
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.
