runaround

American  

[ruhn-uh-round] / ˈrʌn əˌraʊnd /

noun

1. indecisive or evasive treatment, especially in response to a request.

   Ask for a raise and he'll give you the runaround.

   Synonyms:

   slip, evasion, dodge

2. 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.

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runaround Idioms  

1. see get the runaround.

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Etymology

Origin of runaround

1870–75, noun use of verb phrase run around

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

runaround

Emails to Saks asking about owed payments often went unanswered or were met with a runaround, said Emiliano Shnitzer-Bartocci, vice president of CTE Watch Co., which distributes Timex watches and Ray-Ban sunglasses among other accessories.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026

At Fir Park, Celtic were given the runaround by Jens Berthel Askou's team in a deserved 2-0 win.

From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2026

The agencies, he said, gave him the runaround and he couldn’t get anyone to answer his calls — which he said was perplexing, considering the rapid response when he alerted them to infected cattle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2025

Can this show keep people invested in this runaround for two more seasons?

From Salon ● Feb. 14, 2025

I tried calling them, and I got the runaround there as well.

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah