runoff

[ruhn-awf, -of]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR runoff ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

something that drains or flows off, as rain that flows off from the land in streams.

a final contest held to determine a victor after earlier contests have eliminated the weaker contestants.

a deciding final contest held after one in which there has been no decisive victor, as between two contestants who have tied for first place.

Also called rundown. a continual or prolonged reduction, especially in quantity or supply: a runoff in bank deposits; a sharp runoff in business inventories.

Stock Exchange. the final prices appearing on the ticker after the closing bell is rung for the trading day.

RELATED WORDS

drainage, overflow

Origin of runoff

1850–55, Americanism; noun use of verb phrase run off; (def 2, 3) see -off

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for runoff

Contemporary Examples of runoff

So then-President George H.W. Bush and other prominent Republicans endorsed Treen in the House runoff.
The Louisiana Racists Who Courted Steve Scalise
Jason Berry
January 3, 2015
But what if a Louisiana runoff will determine which party controls the Senate?
Election Day In The Big Sleazy
Jeff Greenfield
November 2, 2014
Tyner went on to note that correct legal remedy if the runoff was called into question was “a new election.”
Could Chris McDaniel Get A Do-Over In The Mississippi Senate Race?
Ben Jacobs
July 10, 2014
Under Mississippi law, if no candidate receives 50 percent, a runoff is mandated, held three weeks later.
How Thad Cochran Pulled Off a Win Over Chris McDaniel (Simple, Really)
Stuart Stevens
June 30, 2014
Cochran just flat outworked his opponent all through the runoff.
How Thad Cochran Pulled Off a Win Over Chris McDaniel (Simple, Really)
Stuart Stevens
June 30, 2014

Historical Examples of runoff

Scrub on the remainder, however, serves to stabilize the soil of the forest lands against erosion and to slow the runoff of water.
Area Handbook for Bulgaria
Eugene K. Keefe, Violeta D. Baluyut, William Giloane, Anne K. Long, James M. Moore, and Neda A. Walpole
They are spring-fed, and their runoff drains into Turkey Cock Run.
Green Spring Farm
Ross Netherton
Another part may penetrate a little distance into the zone of weathering and then join the runoff.
The Economic Aspect of Geology
C. K. Leith
Geological conditions are frequently of great importance in their influence on the quantity and regularity of runoff.
The Economic Aspect of Geology
C. K. Leith
Runoff is checked by a sod and less water is used by a sod in mid-summer, after it has been mowed, than by a heavy cover crop.
Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the Twenty-Fourth Annual Meeting
Northern Nut Growers Association

Word Origin and History for runoff

also run-off, "precipitation water drained by streams and rivers," 1887, from run (v.) + off (adv.). Meaning "deciding race after a tie" is from 1873; electoral sense is attested by 1910, American English.