2 to run out of steam → see steam
3 PHRASAL VERB If something runs out , it becomes used up so that there is no more left. □ [V P ] Conditions are getting worse and supplies are running out.
4 PHRASAL VERB When a legal document runs out , it stops being valid. □ [V P ] When the lease ran out the family moved to Campigny.
▸ run over PHRASAL VERB If a vehicle or its driver runs a person or animal over , it knocks them down or drives over them. □ [V n P ] You can always run him over and make it look like an accident. □ [V P n] He ran over a six-year-old child as he was driving back from a party.
▸ run past PHRASAL VERB To run something past someone means the same as to run it by them. □ [V n P n] Before agreeing, he ran the idea past Johnson.
▸ run through
1 PHRASAL VERB If you run through a list of items, you read or mention all the items quickly. □ [V P n] I ran through the options with him.
2 PHRASAL VERB If you run through a performance or a series of actions, you practise it. □ [V P n] Doug stood still while I ran through the handover procedure.
3 → see also run-through
▸ run to
1 PHRASAL VERB If you run to someone, you go to them for help or to tell them something. □ [V P n] If you were at a party and somebody was getting high, you didn't go running to a cop.
2 PHRASAL VERB If something runs to a particular amount or size, it is that amount or size. □ [V P n] The finished manuscript ran to the best part of fifty double-sided pages.
3 PHRASAL VERB If you cannot run to a particular item, you cannot afford to buy it or pay for it. [mainly BRIT ] □ [V P n] Radio, unlike movies, did not run to chauffeurs and limousines.
▸ run up
1 PHRASAL VERB If someone runs up bills or debts, they acquire them by buying a lot of things or borrowing money. □ [V P n] He ran up a £1,400 bill at the Britannia Adelphi Hotel.
2 → see also run-up
▸ run up against PHRASAL VERB If you run up against problems, you suddenly begin to experience them. □ [V P P n] I ran up against the problem of getting taken seriously long before I became a writer.
run|about /rʌ nəbaʊt/ (runabouts )
1 N‑COUNT A runabout is a small car used mainly for short journeys. In American English, runabout is used of cars with open tops. □ …a small 1-litre runabout.
2 N‑COUNT A runabout is a small, light boat with a motor. [AM ]
run|around /rʌ nəraʊnd/ also run-around PHRASE If someone gives you the runaround , they deliberately do not give you all the information or help that you want, and send you to another person or place to get it. [INFORMAL ]
run|away /rʌ nəwe I / (runaways )
1 ADJ [ADJ n] You use runaway to describe a situation in which something increases or develops very quickly and cannot be controlled. □ Our Grand Sale in June was a runaway success. □ …a runaway best-seller.
2 N‑COUNT [oft N n] A runaway is someone, especially a child, who leaves home without telling anyone or without permission. □ …a teenage runaway.
3 ADJ [ADJ n] A runaway vehicle or animal is moving forward quickly, and its driver or rider has lost control of it. □ The runaway car careered into a bench, hitting an elderly couple.
run-down also rundown The adjective is pronounced /rʌ n daʊ n/. The noun is pronounced /rʌ n daʊn/. 1 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If someone is run-down , they are tired or slightly ill. [INFORMAL ] □ …times when you are feeling tired and run-down.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A run-down building or area is in very poor condition. □ …one of the most run-down areas in Scotland. □ …a run-down block of flats.
3 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A run-down place of business is not as active as it used to be or does not have many customers. □ …a run-down slate quarry.
4 N‑SING When the run-down of an industry or organization takes place, its size or the amount of work that it does is reduced. [mainly BRIT ] □ [+ of ] …the impetus behind the rundown of the coal industry.
5 N‑SING If you give someone a run-down of a group of things or a run-down on something, you give them details about it. [INFORMAL ] □ [+ of/on ] Here's a rundown of the options.
rune /ruː n/ (runes ) N‑COUNT Runes are letters from an alphabet that was used by people in Northern Europe in former times. They were carved on wood or stone and were believed to have magical powers.
rung /rʌ ŋ/ (rungs )
1 Rung is the past participle of ring .
2 N‑COUNT The rungs on a ladder are the wooden or metal bars that form the steps. □ I swung myself onto the ladder and felt for the next rung.
3 N‑COUNT If you reach a particular rung in your career, in an organization, or in a process, you reach that level in it. □ [+ of ] I first worked with him in 1971 when we were both on the lowest rung of our careers.
ru n-in (run-ins ) N‑COUNT A run-in is an argument or quarrel with someone. [INFORMAL ] □ [+ with ] I had a monumental run-in with him a couple of years ago.
run|ner ◆◇◇ /rʌ nə r / (runners )
1 N‑COUNT A runner is a person who runs, especially for sport or pleasure. □ …a marathon runner. □ I am a very keen runner and am out training most days.