6 VERB If you run your hand or an object through something, you move your hand or the object through it. □ [V n prep] He laughed and ran his fingers through his hair.
7 VERB If you run something through a machine, process, or series of tests, you make it go through the machine, process, or tests. □ [V n + through ] They have gathered the best statistics they can find and run them through their own computers.
8 VERB If someone runs for office in an election, they take part as a candidate. □ [V + for ] It was only last February that he announced he would run for president. □ [V + against ] In 1864, McClellan ran against Lincoln as the Democratic candidate for president. □ [V ] Women are running in nearly all the contested seats in Los Angeles.
9 N‑SING A run for office is an attempt to be elected to office. [mainly AM ] □ [+ for ] He was already preparing his run for the presidency. in BRIT, usually use bid 10 VERB If you run something such as a business or an activity, you are in charge of it or you organize it. □ [V n] His stepfather ran a prosperous paint business. □ [V n] Is this any way to run a country? □ [V -ed] …a well-run, profitable organisation.
11 VERB [usu cont] If you talk about how a system, an organization, or someone's life is running , you are saying how well it is operating or progressing. □ [V adv] Officials in charge of the camps say the system is now running extremely smoothly. □ [V ] …the staff who have kept the bank running.
12 VERB If you run an experiment, computer program, or other process, or start it running , you start it and let it continue. □ [V n] He ran a lot of tests and it turned out I had an infection called mycoplasma. □ [V ] You can check your program one command at a time while it's running.
13 VERB When you run a cassette or video tape or when it runs , it moves through the machine as the machine operates. □ [V n] He pushed the play button again and ran the tape. □ [V ] The tape had run to the end but recorded nothing.
14 VERB [usu cont] When a machine is running or when you are running it, it is switched on and is working. □ [V ] We told him to wait out front with the engine running. □ [V n] …with everybody running their appliances all at the same time.
15 VERB A machine or equipment that runs on or off a particular source of energy functions using that source of energy. □ [V + on/off ] Black cabs run on diesel.
16 VERB If you run a car or a piece of equipment, you have it and use it. [mainly BRIT ] □ [V n] I ran a 1960 Rover 100 from 1977 until 1983.
17 VERB When you say that vehicles such as trains and buses run from one place to another, you mean they regularly travel along that route. □ [V prep] A shuttle bus runs frequently between the Inn and the Country Club. □ [V ] …a government which can't make the trains run on time.
18 VERB If you run someone somewhere in a car, you drive them there. [INFORMAL ] □ [V n prep/adv] Could you run me up to Baltimore?
19 VERB If you run over or down to a place that is quite near, you drive there. [INFORMAL ] □ [V adv] I'll run over to Short Mountain and check on Mrs Adams.
20 N‑COUNT A run is a journey somewhere. □ …doing the morning school run.
21 VERB If a liquid runs in a particular direction, it flows in that direction. □ [V prep/adv] Tears were running down her cheeks. □ [V adj] Wash the rice in cold water until the water runs clear.
22 VERB If you run water, or if you run a tap or a bath, you cause water to flow from a tap. □ [V n] She went to the sink and ran water into her empty glass.
23 VERB [only cont] If a tap or a bath is running , water is coming out of a tap. □ [V ] You must have left a tap running in the bathroom.
24 VERB [usu cont] If your nose is running , liquid is flowing out of it, usually because you have a cold. □ [V ] Timothy was crying, mostly from exhaustion, and his nose was running.
25 VERB [usu cont] If a surface is running with a liquid, that liquid is flowing down it. □ [V + with ] After an hour he realised he was completely running with sweat.
26 VERB If the dye in some cloth or the ink on some paper runs , it comes off or spreads when the cloth or paper gets wet. □ [V ] The ink had run on the wet paper.
27 VERB If a feeling runs through your body or a thought runs through your mind, you experience it or think it quickly. □ [V + through ] She felt a surge of excitement run through her.
28 VERB If a feeling or noise runs through a group of people, it spreads among them. □ [V + through ] A buzz of excitement ran through the crowd.
29 VERB If a theme or feature runs through something such as someone's actions or writing, it is present in all of it. □ [V + through ] Another thread running through this series is the role of doctors. □ [V + throughout ] There was something of this mood running throughout the Party's deliberations.
30 VERB When newspapers or magazines run a particular item or story or if it runs , it is published or printed. □ [V n] The newspaper ran a series of four editorials entitled 'The Choice of Our Lives.' □ [V ] …an editorial that ran this weekend entitled 'Mr. Cuomo Backs Out.'