What does "run" mean?
Act or instance of running, of moving rapidly using the feet.
Run
/ɹʊn/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Act or instance of running, of moving rapidly using the feet.
- Grammar: run is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: ladder, streak, abide, ability to work.
- Useful contrasts: unexecuted path, bike, break.
- Usage evidence: Someday I'll run like the wind.
How to use "run"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "run" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "run" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "run" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "run" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "run" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "ladder" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "run", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Act or instance of running, of moving rapidly using the feet.
"I just got back from my morning run."
- 2 a score in baseball made by a runner touching all four bases safely wordnet
- 3 Act or instance of hurrying (to or from a place) (not necessarily on foot); dash or errand, trip.
"I need to make a run to the store."
- 4 the act of running; traveling on foot at a fast pace wordnet
- 5 A pleasure trip.
"Let's go for a run in the car."
Show 57 more definitions
- 6 a regular trip wordnet
- 7 Flight, instance or period of fleeing.
"During his run from the police, he claimed to have a metaphysical experience which can only be described as “having passed through an abyss.”"
- 8 a short trip wordnet
- 9 Migration of fish.
- 10 (American football) a play in which a player attempts to carry the ball through or past the opposing team wordnet
- 11 A group of fish that migrate, or ascend a river for the purpose of spawning.
- 12 the act of testing something wordnet
- 13 A literal or figurative path or course for movement relating to:; A (regular) trip or route.
"The bus on the Cherry Street run is always crowded."
- 14 an unbroken chronological sequence wordnet
- 15 A literal or figurative path or course for movement relating to:; The route taken while running or skiing.
"Which run did you do today?"
- 16 the pouring forth of a fluid wordnet
- 17 A literal or figurative path or course for movement relating to:; A single trip down a hill, as in skiing and bobsledding.
- 18 a row of unravelled stitches wordnet
- 19 A literal or figurative path or course for movement relating to:; The distance sailed by a ship.
"a good run; a run of fifty miles"
- 20 a race run on foot wordnet
- 21 A literal or figurative path or course for movement relating to:; A voyage.
"a run to China"
- 22 a race between candidates for elective office wordnet
- 23 A literal or figurative path or course for movement relating to:; A trial.
"The data got lost, so I'll have to perform another run of the experiment."
- 24 an unbroken series of events wordnet
- 25 A literal or figurative path or course for movement relating to:; The execution of a program or model
"This morning's run of the SHIPS statistical model gave Hurricane Priscilla a 74% chance of gaining at least 30 knots of intensity in 24 hours, reconfirmed by the HMON and GFS dynamical models."
- 26 a small stream wordnet
- 27 A literal or figurative path or course for movement relating to:; A playthrough, or attempted playthrough; a session of play.
"This was my first successful run without losing any health."
- 28 the production achieved during a continuous period of operation (of a machine or factory etc.) wordnet
- 29 Unrestricted use. Only used in have the run of.
"He can have the run of the house."
- 30 unrestricted freedom to use wordnet
- 31 An enclosure for an animal; a track or path along which something can travel.
"He set up a rabbit run."
- 32 the continuous period of time during which something (a machine or a factory) operates or continues in operation wordnet
- 33 A rural landholding for farming, usually for running sheep, and operated by a runholder. Australia, New-Zealand
- 34 State of being current; currency; popularity.
"It is impossible for detached papers[...] to have a general run, or long continuance, if they are not diversified[...]."
- 35 Something continuous or sequential.; A continuous period (of time) marked by a trend; a period marked by a continuing trend.
"I’m having a run of bad luck."
- 36 Something continuous or sequential.; A series of tries in a game that were successful.
"If our team can keep up their strong defense, expect them to make a run in this tournament."
- 37 Something continuous or sequential.; A production quantity (such as in a factory).
"Yesterday we did a run of 12,000 units."
- 38 Something continuous or sequential.; The period of showing of a play, film, TV series, etc.
"The run of the show lasted two weeks, and we sold out every night."
- 39 Something continuous or sequential.; A period of extended (usually daily) drug use. slang
"And I'll tell ya, things aren't quite the same / When I'm rushing on my run."
- 40 Something continuous or sequential.; A sequence of cards in a suit in a card game.
- 41 Something continuous or sequential.; A rapid passage in music, especially along a scale.
- 42 A flow of liquid; a leak.
"The constant run of water from the faucet annoys me."
- 43 A small creek or part thereof. (Compare Southern US branch and New York and New England brook.) Pennsylvania, Virginia, West
"The military campaign near that creek was known as "The battle of Bull Run"."
- 44 A quick pace, faster than a walk.
"He broke into a run."
- 45 A quick pace, faster than a walk.; A fast gallop.
- 46 A sudden series of demands on a bank or other financial institution, especially characterised by great withdrawals.
"Financial insecurity led to a run on the banks, as customers feared for the security of their savings."
- 47 Any sudden large demand for something.
"There was a run on Christmas presents."
- 48 Various horizontal dimensions or surfaces; The top of a step on a staircase, also called a tread, as opposed to the rise.
- 49 Various horizontal dimensions or surfaces; The horizontal length of a set of stairs
- 50 Various horizontal dimensions or surfaces; Horizontal dimension of a slope.
- 51 A standard or unexceptional group or category.
"He stood out from the usual run of applicants."
- 52 In sports; A score when a runner touches all bases legally; the act of a runner scoring.
- 53 In sports; The act of passing from one wicket to another; the point scored for this.
- 54 In sports; A running play.
"… one of the greatest runs of all time."
- 55 In sports; The movement communicated to a golf ball by running it.
- 56 In sports; The distance a ball travels after touching the ground from a stroke.
- 57 In sports; The distance drilled with a bit, in oil drilling.
"Well, when you compare the cone type with the cross roller bit, you get a longer run, there is less tendency of the bit to go flat while running in various formations. It cleans itself better."
- 58 A line of knit stitches that have unravelled, particularly in a nylon stocking.
"I have a run in my stocking."
- 59 The stern of the underwater body of a ship from where it begins to curve upward and inward.
- 60 The horizontal distance to which a drift may be carried, either by licence of the proprietor of a mine or by the nature of the formation; also, the direction which a vein of ore or other substance takes.
- 61 A pair or set of millstones.
- 62 One’s gait while running; the way one runs.
"I think they only have a weird run because their leg hurts."
Verb
- 1 To move swiftly.; To move forward quickly upon two feet by alternately making a short jump off either foot. intransitive
"Run, and you might still catch the train!"
- 2 past participle of rin form-of, participle, past
- 3 become undone wordnet
- 4 To move swiftly.; To go at a fast pace; to move quickly. intransitive
"I have been running all over the building looking for him."
- 5 come unraveled or undone as if by snagging wordnet
Show 100 more definitions
- 6 To move swiftly.; To cover (a course or a distance) by running. transitive
"I can run a mile, but I can't run the cross-country course."
- 7 reduce or cause to be reduced from a solid to a liquid state, usually by heating wordnet
- 8 To move swiftly.; To complete a running course or event in (a given time). transitive
"I was hoping to make the team, but I didn't run the qualifying time."
- 9 cause to perform wordnet
- 10 To move swiftly.; To move briskly or smoothly with a motion of sliding, rolling, sweeping etc. intransitive
"The shuttle runs back and forth on these rollers."
- 11 progress by being changed wordnet
- 12 To move swiftly.; To cause to move quickly or lightly. transitive
"Every day I run my dog across the field and back."
- 13 change from one state to another wordnet
- 14 To move swiftly.; To compete in a race. intransitive, transitive
"The horse will run in the Preakness next year."
- 15 compete in a race wordnet
- 16 To move swiftly.; To transport (someone or something), notionally at a brisk pace. transitive
"Could you run me over to the store?"
- 17 run, stand, or compete for an office or a position wordnet
- 18 To move swiftly.; Of a means of transportation: to travel (a route). intransitive, transitive
"The bus (train, plane, ferry boat, etc) runs between Newport and Riverside."
- 19 pursue for food or sport (as of wild animals) wordnet
- 20 To move swiftly.; To cause (a vehicle) to travel a route. transitive
"This year, NJ Transit allowed nonmotorists […] to reach the event by running special trains every 2 hours 4 round trips). The location was the old Lackawanna Railroad freight house, about a 10-minute walk from the Boonton Station, which normally has service only during peak-commuting hours on weekdays."
- 21 pass over, across, or through wordnet
- 22 To move swiftly.; To transit (a length of a river), as in whitewater rafting. transitive
"To put it frankly, if you people had to hire others to run the river and survey it for you, if, in short, you can't even run it yourself, why do think you can decide who is and who is not competent? River running, as has been[…]"
- 23 perform as expected when applied wordnet
- 24 To move swiftly.; Of fish, to migrate for spawning. intransitive
- 25 be operating, running or functioning wordnet
- 26 To move swiftly.; To carry (a football) down the field, as opposed to passing or kicking. intransitive, transitive
"Then, on their second possession, Isaiah Ford ran for 11 yards after abandoning a flea flicker. [...] The Patriots ran the ball just 27 times despite averaging 5 yards per carry."
- 27 conduct to completion wordnet
- 28 To move swiftly.; To flee from a danger or towards help. intransitive
"Whenever things get tough, she cuts and runs."
- 29 cause to emit recorded audio or video wordnet
- 30 To move swiftly.; To pass (without stopping), typically a stop signal, stop sign, or duty to yield the right of way. figuratively, transitive
"The car in front just ran a red light."
- 31 include as the content; broadcast or publicize wordnet
- 32 To move swiftly.; To juggle a pattern continuously, as opposed to starting and stopping quickly. colloquial, transitive
- 33 travel a route regularly wordnet
- 34 To flow.; Of a liquid, to flow. intransitive
"The river runs through the forest into the North Sea."
- 35 cover by running; run a certain distance wordnet
- 36 To flow.; To move or spread quickly. figuratively, intransitive
"There's a strange story running around the neighborhood that you had a miscarriage last year."
- 37 move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time wordnet
- 38 To flow.; Of an object, to have a liquid flowing from it. intransitive
"Your nose is running and your forehead is running with sweat."
- 39 travel rapidly, by any (unspecified) means wordnet
- 40 To flow.; To make a liquid flow; to make liquid flow from or into an object. transitive
"I can't stop my nose from running snot down into my mouth."
- 41 run with the ball; in such sports as football wordnet
- 42 To flow.; To become liquid; to melt. intransitive
"As Wax dissolves, as Ice begins to run,"
- 43 keep company wordnet
- 44 To flow.; To leak or spread in an undesirable fashion; to bleed (especially used of dye or paint). intransitive
"During washing, the red from the rug ran onto the white sheet, staining it pink."
- 45 sail before the wind wordnet
- 46 To flow.; To fuse; to shape; to mould; to cast.
"to run bullets"
- 47 be diffused wordnet
- 48 To sail before the wind, in distinction from reaching or sailing close-hauled.
- 49 move along, of liquids wordnet
- 50 To control or manage; to be in charge of. transitive
"My uncle ran a corner store for forty years."
- 51 flee; take to one's heels; cut and run wordnet
- 52 To be a candidate in an election. intransitive
"I have decided to run for governor of California."
- 53 cause an animal to move fast wordnet
- 54 To make participate in certain kinds of competitions.; To make enter a race. transitive
"He ran his best horse in the Derby."
- 55 move about freely and without restraint, or act as if running around in an uncontrolled way wordnet
- 56 To make participate in certain kinds of competitions.; To make stand in an election. transitive
"The Green Party is running twenty candidates in this election."
- 57 deal in illegally, such as arms or liquor wordnet
- 58 To exert continuous activity; to proceed.
"to run through life; to run in a circle"
- 59 set animals loose to graze wordnet
- 60 To be presented in the media. intransitive
"The story will run on the 6-o'clock news."
- 61 direct or control; projects, businesses, etc. wordnet
- 62 To print or broadcast in the media. transitive
"run a story; run an ad"
- 63 make without a miss wordnet
- 64 To smuggle (illegal goods). transitive
"They are running guns to the rebels."
- 65 carry out a process or program, as on a computer or a machine wordnet
- 66 To sort through a large volume of produce in quality control. transitive
"Looks like we're gonna have to run the tomatoes again."
- 67 occur persistently wordnet
- 68 To extend or persist, statically or dynamically, through space or time.; To extend in space or through a range (often with a measure phrase). intransitive
"The border runs for 3000 miles."
- 69 continue to exist wordnet
- 70 To extend or persist, statically or dynamically, through space or time.; To extend in time, to last, to continue (usually with a measure phrase). intransitive
"The sale will run for ten days."
- 71 extend or continue for a certain period of time wordnet
- 72 To extend or persist, statically or dynamically, through space or time.; To make (something) extend in space. transitive
"I need to run this wire along the wall."
- 73 stretch out over a distance, space, time, or scope; run or extend between two points or beyond a certain point wordnet
- 74 To extend or persist, statically or dynamically, through space or time.; Of a machine, including computer programs, to be operating or working normally. intransitive
"My car stopped running."
- 75 cause something to pass or lead somewhere wordnet
- 76 To extend or persist, statically or dynamically, through space or time.; To make a machine operate. transitive
"It's full. You can run the dishwasher now."
- 77 have a tendency or disposition to do or be something; be inclined wordnet
- 78 To execute or carry out a plan, procedure, or program. transitive
"They ran twenty blood tests on me and they still don't know what's wrong."
- 79 be affected by; be subjected to wordnet
- 80 To pass or go quickly in thought or conversation.
"to run from one subject to another"
- 81 have a particular form wordnet
- 82 To become different in a way mentioned (usually to become worse). copulative
"Our food supplies are running low because money is running short."
- 83 change or be different within limits wordnet
- 84 To cost an amount of money. transitive
"Buying a new laptop will run you a thousand dollars."
- 85 Of stitches or stitched clothing, to unravel. intransitive
"My stocking is running."
- 86 To cause stitched clothing to unravel. transitive
"1977-1980, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure He took off the nylons & had runned one. He said "now I really look like a street whore!""
- 87 To pursue in thought; to carry in contemplation.
"To run the world back to its first original and infancy, and, as it were, to view nature in its cradle,"
- 88 To cause to enter; to thrust.
"to run a sword into or through the body; to run a nail into one's foot"
- 89 To drive or force; to cause, or permit, to be driven.
"They ran the ship aground."
- 90 To cause to be drawn; to mark out; to indicate; to determine.
"to run a line"
- 91 To encounter or incur (a danger or risk). transitive
"to run the risk of losing one's life"
- 92 To put at hazard; to venture; to risk. obsolete, transitive
"He would himself be in the Highlands to receive them, and run his fortune with them."
- 93 To tease with sarcasms and ridicule. obsolete, transitive
- 94 To sew (a seam) by passing the needle through material in a continuous line, generally taking a series of stitches on the needle at the same time.
- 95 To control or have precedence in a card game.
"Every three or four hands he would run the table."
- 96 To be in form thus, as a combination of words.
"Which Sovereignty, with us, ſo undoubtedly reſideth in the Perſon of the King, that his ordinary Style runneth — Our Sovereign Lord the King: […]"
- 97 To be popularly known; to be generally received. archaic
"[...]great captains, and even consular men, who first brought them over, took pride in giving them their own names (by which they run a great while in Rome)"
- 98 To have growth or development.
"Boys and girls run up rapidly."
- 99 To tend, as to an effect or consequence; to incline.
"A man's nature runs either to herbs or weeds."
- 100 To have a legal course; to be attached; to continue in force, effect, or operation; to follow; to go in company.
"Certain covenants run with the land."
- 101 To encounter or suffer (a particular, usually bad, fate or misfortune).
"Don't let me run the fate of all who show indulgence to your sex […]."
- 102 To strike (the ball) in such a way as to cause it to run along the ground, as when approaching a hole.
- 103 To speedrun. rare
- 104 To eject from a game or match. especially
"Jackson got himself run in the top of the sixth for arguing a borderline strike three call."
- 105 To press (a bank, etc.) with immediate demands for payment.
Adjective
- 1 In a liquid state; melted or molten. not-comparable
"Put some run butter on the vegetables."
- 2 Cast in a mould. not-comparable
"[...] the Sides are generally made of Holland's Tiles, or Plates of run Iron, ornamented variously as Fancy dictates, [...]"
- 3 Exhausted; depleted (especially with "down" or "out"). not-comparable
- 4 Travelled, migrated; having made a migration or a spawning run. not-comparable
"The temperature of the water is consequently much higher than in either England or Scotland, and many newly run salmon will be found in early spring in the upper waters of Irish rivers where obstructions exist."
- 5 Smuggled. not-comparable
"run brandy"
Example
"Someday I'll run like the wind."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "run"?
Common synonyms include: ladder, streak, abide, ability to work, abrade, abrasion.
How do you use "run" in a sentence?
Someday I'll run like the wind.
How do you pronounce "run"?
Pronounced /ɹʊn/.
Etymology
From Middle English runnen, rennen (“to run”), alteration (due to the past participle runne, runnen, yronne) of Middle English rinnen (“to run”), from Old English rinnan, iernan (“to run”) and Old Norse rinna (“to run”), both from Proto-Germanic *rinnaną (“to run”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reyH- (“to boil, churn”). Cognate with Scots rin (“to run”), West Frisian rinne (“to walk, march”), archaic Dutch rinnen (“to flow”, still in geronnen), German rinnen (“to flow”), Swedish rinna (“to flow”), and Icelandic renna (“to flow”). From the causative Proto-Germanic *rannijaną (“to make run”) are Dutch rennen, German rennen, Danish rende, Swedish ränna (all “to run”). Non-Germanic cognates include Albanian rend (“to run, run after”). See also random.