runaround
Americannoun
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indecisive or evasive treatment, especially in response to a request.
Ask for a raise and he'll give you the runaround.
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Printing. an arrangement of type in which several lines are set in narrower measure than the others in a column to accommodate an illustration, initial, or the like.
Etymology
Origin of runaround
1870–75, noun use of verb phrase run around
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.
The agency says you can call the Treasury Department’s Electronic Payment Solution Center, but if you’re getting the runaround, going to an office in person is likely your best bet.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
Drivers who request an appeal are either automatically denied or given the runaround without being offered an actual appeals process, Liss-Riordan said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2026
She says every effort thereafter to straighten things out met the runaround.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2025
People generally use “Kafkaesque” as an exaggerated metaphor, perhaps to describe the runaround you get from an insurance company or an especially aggravating trip to the DMV.
From Salon ● Apr. 20, 2025
She slipped into the back of these gatherings—just a tired, heavy, middle-aged black woman searching for a place to rest her feet as she dealt with some bureaucratic runaround.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
