run into
Britishverb
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(also tr) to collide with or cause to collide with
her car ran into a tree
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to encounter unexpectedly
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(also tr) to be beset by or cause to be beset by
the project ran into financial difficulties
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to extend to; be of the order of
debts running into thousands
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Meet or find by chance, as in I ran into an old friend at the concert . [c. 1900]
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See run against , def. 1.
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Collide with, as in The car ran straight into the retaining wall . [c. 1800]
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Incur, as in We've run into extra expenses with the renovation , or James said they've run into debt . [c. 1400]
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Mount up, increase to, as in Her book may well run into a second volume .
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Follow without interruption, as in What with one day running into the next, we never knew just what day it was! or He spoke so fast his words ran into one another . [Late 1600s] Also see run into a stone wall ; run into the ground .
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.
Policies on this scale, which could run into several billions, would likely need to be set out in future budgets and spending reviews, alongside detailed plans about how they would be paid for.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
At Obsessed Fest, where tickets went for $25, Kristina Lee, 28, and Maddie Jahn, 30, both from L.A., were delighted to run into members of their romance book club.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
If companies do not do this they can be fined up to 10% of their global revenues, which in the case of Google could run into many billions of pounds.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
At the time, the league’s governing body was weighing the introduction of VAR, only to run into a popular movement of supporters’ clubs against it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
I’m tempted to drag my feet, but then I’ll just run into someone in the hall.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
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.
