run

Less common meanings

23. 23
    verbintransitive

    Of a liquid, to flow; of a tap, a nose or the eyes, to have liquid flowing from it.

    Let the water run until it's cold.

    Tears ran down her face.

    UsageEither the liquid or its source is the subject: tears ran down her face; my nose is running.

    Similarflow, stream, pour, trickle

    Note

    Here the liquid itself is the subject: a river runs, blood runs down a leg, tears run down a face. Make the container the subject instead and the tap, nose or eyes run, with the liquid left unnamed; let color escape where it should not and you get dye that bleeds. In the physical sciences it names liquid in motion.

24. 24
    nouncountable

    A bid to win something, such as a campaign for elected office or a team's progress through a competition toward a championship.

    The senator is widely expected to make a run for the presidency in two years.

    The team's playoff run ended with a heartbreaking loss in the semifinals.

    UsageCommon in make a run for office and a team's playoff run.

    Similarbid, campaign

25. 25
    quick tripnouncountable

    A hurried trip or errand, not necessarily on foot.

    She made a quick run into town for bread.

    Can you make a coffee run for the whole office?

    UsageCommon with a destination or item: a run to the store, a coffee run.

    Similartrip, errand, dash

    Note

    Fire services use the word for a call-out, so firefighters who are not woken can miss runs. Older writing applies it to a ship's passage, as in a 1759 account of a squadron's run to port St. Julian. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Older writing uses 'run' for a squadron's passage to port St. Julian. en.wiktionary.org
26. 26
    costverbtransitive

    To cost, or to come to a particular amount.

    Dinner for four will run close to two hundred.

    The tickets ran us fifty each.

    UsageThe amount can follow directly, with the payer before it: it'll run you a thousand dollars. Run to an amount is also possible.

    Similarcost

27. 27
    open the tapverbtransitive

    To make a liquid flow, or to let liquid flow out of or into a container or other object.

    Run the faucet for a minute until the water turns cold.

    The plumber ran water through the new pipes to check for leaks.

    UsageRun a bath means fill the tub for bathing; run the water means let it flow.

    Note

    Here someone sets the flow going. Compare a running nose or faucet in the flowing sense, where the liquid often goes unnamed.

28. 28
    verbfigurativelytransitive

    To go through a stop signal, or ignore a duty to yield, without stopping.

    He was fined for running a red.

    Cyclists who run stop signs give the rest of us a bad name.

    UsageCommon objects: run a red light, run a stop sign.

    Similarjump

29. 29
    ladder (tights)nouncountable

    A line of unraveled stitches, especially in a nylon stocking.

    She noticed the run in her pantyhose just before the interview.

    Clear nail polish will stop a run spreading.

    UsageThe frame is a run in + garment: a run in my tights.

    Similarladder

    Note

    The damage left behind when stitches give way: the verb of unraveling names the process, and this noun names the line it leaves. The usual frame is a run in followed by the garment, as in a run in my stocking, or runs in her nylons in Joni Mitchell's 1975 song. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • The exact words 'runs in her nylons' occur in Joni Mitchell's song 'The Boho Dance', written by Mitchell. jonimitchell.com
    • The song dates from 1975; it appeared on The Hissing of Summer Lawns, released in November 1975. jonimitchell.com
30. 30
    factory outputnouncountable

    A quantity of something produced at one time, as in a factory or a print shop.

    The first run of the vinyl record sold out in a week.

    The plant does several short runs a month to test new designs.

    UsageUsual company: a print run, a first run, a short run.

    Similarbatch, printing, pressing

    Note

    Printers and factories count output in runs: a press run of 5,000 copies, a run of 12,000 units. The word measures one batch made in a single go, which is why first run and short run are its usual company. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • A number is optional; ordinary uses such as 'a short print run' leave the quantity unspecified. sheridan.com
31. 31
    bank panicnouncountable

    In banking, a sudden wave of withdrawals from a bank or other institution by customers who fear for their money: a run on the banks.

    The rumor started a run on the savings bank.

    Governments guarantee deposits partly to prevent a run.

    UsageThe bank follows on: a run on the banks.

    Similarrush

    Note

    Banking's word for panic made visible: depositors, afraid for their savings, ask for their money all at once. The same shape spreads to any sudden large demand, where a shop can see a run on a single product. Source

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Fear for their savings can cause many depositors to seek withdrawals simultaneously. imf.org
32. 32
    spread (dye)verbintransitive

    Of dye, paint or ink, to leak or bleed into what is around it.

    The ink ran when the letter got wet.

    Cheap paint will run in the rain.

    UsageWhere the color goes follows onto or into: the red ran onto my white shirt.

    Similarbleed, spread, smudge

    Note

    Laundry and paint trouble: the color leaves where it belongs and spreads into whatever it touches, as red from a rug runs onto a white sheet. Unlike water that simply flows, this kind of running is usually a fault. Source

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Dye can transfer from a colored textile to a white textile in contact with it. en.wikipedia.org
33. 33
    regular tripnouncountable

    A regular trip or the route it follows.

    He drove the Boston run for twenty years.

    The last run of the night leaves at midnight.

    Similarroute, trip, service, journey

34. 34
    nouncountable

    In music, a rapid passage of notes, especially along a scale.

    The flute has a run of sixteenth notes in bar twelve.

    Her runs were flawless and a little too frequent.

    Similarpassage, flourish

    Note

    A musician's term for speed along a line of notes. A run usually moves stepwise up or down a scale, though it can follow an arpeggio, and goes fast enough to be heard as one gesture rather than as separate notes. It applies to instruments and voices alike, from a run up the keyboard to a singer's vocal run. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • A run often moves stepwise, but can also follow an arpeggio or another pattern. en.wikipedia.org
35. 35
    ladder (tights)verbintransitive

    Of stitches or knitted clothing, to unravel in a line.

    Cheap tights run at the first touch.

    She snagged her tights on the car door, and by the time she got to work they had run from knee to ankle.

    Similarladder, unravel

36. 36
    verbtransitive

    To make a person, animal or thing move quickly or lightly.

    At dawn the sailors ran the flag up the mast.

    The trainers run the young horses around the track each morning to build stamina.

    UsageOften followed by a path after the object: run your fingers through your hair, run a flag up the mast.

    Similarslide, move

    Note

    The construction wants a path as well as an object: you run a dog across a field, a vacuum cleaner over the carpet, your fingers through someone's hair. Drop the direction and the sentence slides toward operating a machine: running the vacuum cleaner on its own means switching it on and using it.

37. 37
    smuggleverbtransitive

    To smuggle illegal goods, such as guns, into or out of a place.

    During Prohibition, speedboats ran whiskey in from Canada under cover of darkness.

    Investigators believe the crew was hired to run weapons to militias across the border.

    Similarsmuggle, traffic

    Note

    Smuggling by this name was once as much about tax as contraband: in 1728 Jonathan Swift wrote of the temptation of running goods that paid high duties, that is, bringing them in without paying. Today the object is more often something banned outright, such as guns, and the destination follows to. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • Running goods historically included smuggling to evade customs duties. gutenberg.org
    • Jonathan Swift wrote the relevant passage in 1728. cambridge.org
    • Swift wrote about the temptation to run goods subject to high duties, meaning importing them without paying those duties. gutenberg.org
38. 38
    be wordedverbintransitive

    Of a text, saying or other combination of words, to be worded in a particular way.

    The inscription on the old bell ran, "I call the living, I mourn the dead."

    The terms of the settlement run as follows: each side pays its own costs.

    UsageIntroduces exact wording, often with as follows or a quotation: the terms run as follows.

    Similarread, go (entry), say

    Note

    The present participle does the same job, as in Ben Travers's A Cuckoo in the Nest, with its brief chanty running "Got it? Got it?" Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Ben Travers wrote A Cuckoo in the Nest. openlibrary.org
    • The work describes a brief chanty using 'running' and includes the exact words 'Got it? Got it?'. en.wiktionary.org
39. 39
    nouncountable

    The route someone takes when out running or skiing.

    The steepest run on the mountain is closed until the snow firms up.

    She mapped out three new runs through the hills for the club's Sunday outings.

    Similarroute, trail, slope, course

    Note

    Here the run is the course, not the outing: a runner's regular run is a route used again and again, and a ski area's runs are its trails. That keeps it apart from the act of running and one trip down a hill: the run was icy describes the trail.

40. 40
    verbtransitive

    To make something, such as a wire, extend along or through a space.

    The electrician will run new wiring through the attic.

    They ran a low fence along the edge of the property.

    UsageOften followed by a path expression: run a cable under the floor, run a fence along the edge.

    Similarinstall, lay, string, pass

    Note

    The causative partner of the "extend" meaning: a wall runs along the garden, and you run a wire along the wall. It is the installer's verb for laying anything out in a line, and it nearly always takes a path phrase such as along, through, under or across.

41. 41
    verbtransitive

    To take someone or something somewhere, usually as a quick trip.

    My neighbor offered to run the kids to soccer practice.

    She ran the signed contracts down to the legal department.

    UsageTakes a direction after the person: could you run me over to the store?

    Similartake, drive, ferry

    Note

    An errand verb, usually asked as a favor: could you run me over to the store? It almost always takes a direction word after the object (over, up, down, upstairs), and the one doing the running need not hurry or go on foot. Driving a friend counts, and so does carrying a report to another floor.

42. 42
    nouncountable

    A sudden, heavy demand for something.

    News of the shortage set off a run on bottled water.

    The launch triggered a run on the new phone, crashing the company's website.

    UsageThe thing wanted follows on: a run on bottled water.

    Similarrush

    Note

    It is the everyday cousin of a run on a bank, where depositors all demand their money at once, and it shares that sense of a rush that empties the shelves. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • A bank run involves depositors rushing to withdraw their money. richmondfed.org
43. 43
    nouncountable

    An enclosed area where an animal is kept, or a track or path along which something can travel.

    Each dog at the kennel has its own run with a covered shelter at one end.

    Deer had worn a narrow run through the tall grass down to the creek.

    UsageThe animal comes first in compounds: a dog run, a chicken run.

    Similarenclosure, pen, track, path

    Note

    What links the pen and the path is movement. A run is room to move along, whether fenced for a pet or worn through grass by deer, while a hutch or kennel is where the animal shelters. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • A hutch provides shelter for an animal. rspca.org.uk
    • A kennel provides shelter for a dog. en.wikipedia.org
44. 44
    spread (news)verbfigurativelyintransitive

    To move or spread quickly, as a rumor or an illness does through a group of people.

    Rumors run through this office faster than email.

    A wave of panic ran through the crowd when the lights went out.

    UsageUsually with through: a shiver ran through the crowd.

    Similarspread, sweep, race

    Note

    It is the flowing of liquids carried over to people: talk, sickness or feeling moving through a group the way water moves through a channel. Source

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • The spreading sense is a figurative extension of the liquid-flow sense; Wiktionary groups it under “To flow.” en.wiktionary.org
45. 45
    life in hidingnouncountable

    An act or period of fleeing, as from the police or from danger.

    His long run from the law ended when a neighbor recognized him.

    The prisoners made a run for the border before dawn.

    UsageFrom names what you escape, for the goal: make a run for the border; on the run means escaping.

    Similardash, flight, break, bolt

    Note

    The noun behind the verb of escape. It can name a single dash or a long period spent evading capture; the word itself carries no length, so context decides.

46. 46
    put up (candidate)verbtransitive

    To put forward a person as a candidate in an election.

    The union may run its own candidate for the school board.

    The small party plans to run a candidate in every Senate race this year.

    UsageThe party is the subject: the party ran twenty candidates, and each candidate ran for a seat.

    Similarfield, nominate

    Note

    A party's verb rather than a candidate's. The subject is usually the organization and the object is the people it puts forward, so the Green Party runs twenty candidates while each of them runs, in the candidate's own sense, for a seat.

47. 47
    verbintransitive

    To pass or move quickly in thought or conversation, as from one subject to another.

    Her thoughts run back to that summer whenever she hears the song.

    The conversation ran from politics to gardening in a matter of minutes.

    UsageTakes a path: thoughts run back to that summer, talk ran from politics to gardening.

    Similardrift, wander, turn, move

    Note

    Thought and talk that run move freely from one subject to the next. The construction is a path: run from one topic to another, run back to a memory, or run into a digression, as Joseph Addison says Virgil ran into a set of precepts almost foreign to his subject. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • Joseph Addison says Virgil ran into a set of precepts almost foreign to his subject. gutenberg.org
48. 48
    fish migrationnouncountable

    A migration of fish, when they move together from one area of water to another.

    Anglers line the riverbank every fall for the salmon run.

    Old dams still block the spring runs of shad and herring.

    Similarmigration

49. 49
    nouncountable

    A single trip down a slope, as in skiing or bobsledding.

    The German team posted the fastest time on its final run down the bobsled track.

    After three runs on the steep slope, his legs were shaking.

    Similardescent, trip

    Note

    Skiing uses the word for both the trail and the trip down it: the route itself is a run, and so is each descent of it. Here it is the descent, counted and timed: a first run, three runs before lunch, the fastest run on a bobsled track. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • Bobsled descents are counted and timed. olympics.com.au
50. 50
    video gamesnouncountable

    In video games, a playthrough or an attempt at one, or a single session of play.

    A glitch on the last level ended her world-record run.

    He resets dozens of runs a night trying to shave off a few seconds.

    Similarattempt, playthrough

    Note

    The basic unit of speedrunning, where every attempt is timed and one early mistake can make a record impossible. Players say a bug or a stray enemy killed their run, and they reset a run rather than finish one already lost. The noun also covers any ordinary playthrough. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • Speedrunning involves timed attempts. livesplit.org
    • An early mistake can make a record impossible, prompting a player to reset rather than finish the attempt. speedrun.com
51. 51
    free usenoununcountable

    Unrestricted use of a place or its contents, usually in the phrase have the run of.

    Guests at the retreat have the run of the grounds, including the lake.

    As the owner's son, he had the run of the factory floor.

    Similarfreedom

    Note

    The idiom is about permission more than ownership: whoever has the run of a house or garden may go anywhere in it, usually because the owner allows it.

52. 52
    nouncountable

    In construction, the horizontal distance covered by a slope.

    The carpenter divided the rise by the run to find the pitch of the roof.

    Doubling the run of the ramp made it half as steep.

    Note

    A builder's measurement that rarely appears alone: it pairs with rise, the vertical distance the same slope climbs. Steepness is stated as rise over run, so a longer run with the same rise makes a gentler slope. Roofs, ramps and drainage lines are all laid out by these two numbers. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

    • Run is the horizontal distance, and rise is the corresponding vertical distance. septic.umn.edu
    • Slope is calculated as rise divided by run; increasing the run while keeping the rise constant therefore makes the slope gentler. septic.umn.edu
    • Roof slopes are measured using rise and run. nachi.org
    • Ramp slopes are specified using vertical rise relative to horizontal distance. access-board.gov
    • Drainage lines are laid out using slope calculations based on vertical elevation differences and horizontal distances. septic.umn.edu
53. 53
    usual kindnoun

    An ordinary, unremarkable class or set of people or things.

    The festival lineup was mostly the usual run of crime thrillers and family dramas.

    Her paintings rise well above the general run of tourist art sold along the pier.

    UsageUsed in phrases like the usual run of films, meaning the ordinary ones of that kind.

    Similarcrop, range

    Note

    Usually framed with an adjective of ordinariness, the usual, general, common or ordinary run of, followed by a plural, and set against someone who stands out from it or rises above it. The article matters: a run of applicants suggests a series arriving one after another, closer to a streak or spell, while the run of applicants means the ordinary kind.

54. 54
    cards in ordernouncountable

    In card games, a series of consecutive cards all belonging to one suit.

    He laid down a run from the eight to the jack of diamonds.

    Rather than break up her runs, she discarded a lone king.

    Similarsequence

    Note

    Rummy players build two kinds of combination, and the run is the one that stays within a single suit; the set gathers cards of one rank instead, such as three queens. A run can be extended at either end, so a seven, eight and nine of clubs will take the six or the ten of clubs. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Rummy combinations are sets and runs; runs contain consecutive cards of one suit. bicyclecards.com
    • A set contains cards of one rank, so three queens form a set. en.wikipedia.org
    • A run can be extended at either end; 7–8–9 of clubs can take the six or ten of clubs. pagat.com
55. 55
    verb

    To finish a race or running course in a stated time, as in she ran a four-hour marathon.
56. 56
    verb

    To operate a bus, train or other vehicle along a route.
57. 57
    verb

    To travel down a stretch of river by boat or raft, especially through rapids.
58. 58
    verb

    Of fish, to swim upstream or along a coast in large numbers to lay eggs.
59. 59
    verbcolloquial

    In juggling, to keep a pattern going without stopping, rather than doing only a few throws.
60. 60
    verb

    To turn from solid into liquid.
61. 61
    verb

    To make an object by pouring melted metal or wax into a mold.
62. 62
    verb

    To sail with the wind coming from behind, rather than across the side or ahead.
63. 63
    verb

    To enter a horse, dog or other competitor in a race.
64. 64
    verb

    To keep going or carry on with an activity without stopping.
65. 65
    verb

    In quality control, to work through a large batch of fruit or vegetables, sorting it by quality.
66. 66
    verb

    To make the stitches in a garment come undone in a line, as when a stocking ladders.
67. 67
    verb

    To trace something in the mind, following it through its stages or back to its origin.
68. 68
    verb

    To push or stick something into or through something else, as in he ran a sword through it.
69. 69
    verb

    To force or steer something, or let it be pushed, in a certain direction, as in to run a ship aground.
70. 70
    verb

    To draw or trace a line, or to fix a boundary or direction.
71. 71
    verbobsolete

    To stake or risk something, such as one's fortune, on an uncertain outcome.

    He would himself be in the Highlands to receive them, and run his fortune with them.

    Can we date this quote?, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England
72. 72
    verbobsolete

    To make fun of someone with mocking remarks.
73. 73
    verb

    To join fabric along a seam with a continuous line of small in-and-out stitches, often picking up several with the needle before pulling the thread through.
74. 74
    verb

    In a card game, to have control of play or the advantage over other players.
75. 75
    verbarchaic

    To be widely known or accepted, as a saying or report is.

    Neither was he ignorant what report ran of himselfe.

    1603, Richard Knolles, The Generall Historie of the Turkes
76. 76
    verb

    To develop or grow.
77. 77
    verb

    To lean toward a certain result or quality, as in his taste runs to spicy food.
78. 78
    verb

    Of a legal right, duty or condition, to stay in effect or go along with something, as in the covenant runs with the land.
79. 79
    verb

    To meet with or undergo some fate, usually a bad one.
80. 80
    verb

    In golf, to hit the ball low so that it rolls along the ground toward the hole.
81. 81
    verbrare

    To play through a video game as fast as possible, often for a record.
82. 82
    verb

    To send a player or coach out of a game as a penalty.
83. 83
    verb

    To rush a bank or similar institution with sudden, heavy demands to withdraw money.
84. 84
    noun

    A short journey taken for enjoyment.
85. 85
    noun

    A large group of fish swimming upriver or along a coast to lay eggs.
86. 86
    noun

    The distance a ship covers in sailing.
87. 87
    noun

    A journey by ship.
88. 88
    noun

    One instance of carrying out a computer program or model.
89. 89
    nounAustraliaNew Zealand

    In Australia and New Zealand, a large rural property used for farming, especially sheep, managed by a runholder.
90. 90
    noun

    The state of being widely accepted, used or in fashion.
91. 91
    noun

    A string of successful attempts one after another in a game.
92. 92
    nounslang

    A long stretch of taking a drug, usually every day.
93. 93
    noun

    A stream of liquid, or liquid leaking out.
94. 94
    noundialectalPennsylvaniaVirginiaWest

    A small stream or a stretch of one, a term used mainly in parts of the eastern United States.
95. 95
    noun

    A fast way of moving on foot, quicker than walking.
96. 96
    noun

    A horse's fastest pace, a full-speed gallop.
97. 97
    noun

    The flat upper surface of a stair that the foot rests on, as distinct from the vertical rise.
98. 98
    noun

    The total distance a staircase covers measured flat across the floor, from first step to last.
99. 99
    noun

    The forward rolling motion given to a golf ball when it is played along the ground.
100. 100
     noun

     How far a ball carries on, bouncing and rolling, after it first lands from a shot.
101. 101
     noun

     In drilling for oil, the depth or length bored by a single bit.
102. 102
     noun

     The rear section of a ship's hull below the waterline, where it narrows and curves up toward the stern.
103. 103
     noun

     The horizontal distance a mine tunnel may be extended, as allowed by the owner or the rock, or the course a vein of ore follows.
104. 104
     noun

     Two or more grinding stones that work as a unit in a mill.
105. 105
     noun

     The manner in which a person moves when running.
106. 106
     adjective

     Melted, or in liquid form.
107. 107
     adjective

     Shaped by pouring molten material into a mold.
108. 108
     adjective

     Worn out or used up, especially in "run down" or "run out."
109. 109
     adjective

     Of fish, having migrated, especially upriver to spawn.
110. 110
     adjective

     Moved secretly into or out of a country against the law, especially to avoid duty.
111. 111
     verbdialectal

     Past participle of "rin," a Scots and northern English dialect verb for moving quickly on foot.