runny
Americanadjective
-
runnier,
comparative
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runniest
superlative
-
tending to run or drip.
a runny paste.
-
(of the nose) discharging mucus.
adjective
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tending to flow; liquid
-
(of the nose or nasal passages) exuding mucus
Other Word Forms
Adjective Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of runny
Explanation
Anything runny is dripping or flowing like liquid. If you have a runny nose, you should probably stuff some tissues into your pocket (or just use your sleeve). Melting ice cream is runny, dripping from your cone down your arm, and an over-easy fried egg is cooked just enough so that the yolk is a little bit runny. A completely raw egg is obviously runny, and so is the nose of a person with a cold. If you're sniffling and sneezing, your nose is probably runny, or dripping with mucus.
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.
See Examples For:
Measles is highly contagious, causing high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes, followed by a rash.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
Most cases are mild and amount to little more than a cough, fever, and runny nose.
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026
Symptoms include a rash, which can appear three to five days after onset of illness, cough, runny nose and red and watery eyes, as well as a fever that can be higher than 101 degrees.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
Their yolks stay creamy without becoming runny, which means you get all the richness of a soft-boiled egg without worrying about a container full of liquid gold sloshing around in your tote bag.
From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2026
No one noticed a Tittle boy of about Blanca’s age who was standing there with a runny nose, his naked belly swollen with parasites.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
While fake honey is sometimes runnier and weaker-tasting than genuine honey, sophisticated fakes can look, smell and taste just like the real thing.
From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2026
Molten basalt is runnier than recycled magma and spreads out into broad “shield” volcanoes like Mars’s Olympus Mons.
From National Geographic ● Oct. 12, 2023
If you stir really fast, with more shearing force, the PB gets runnier, while if you stir slowly the PB remains stiff.
From Scientific American ● May 9, 2023
Previous work at Yellowstone revealed two magma reservoirs: one of gloopy magma 3 miles to 10 miles below the surface, and a far more enormous store of runnier magma 12 miles to 30 miles down.
From New York Times ● Dec. 1, 2022
Just know that pudding tends to be runnier than pastry custard, so you use your judgment when you're at the filling stage, lest you wind up crying into your freezer.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2021
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.
