Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Run

Run

(rŭn)
,
Verb.
I.
[
imp.
Ran
(răn)
or
Run
;
p. p.
Run
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Running
.]
[OE.
rinnen
,
rennen
(imp.
ran
, p. p.
runnen
,
ronnen
). AS.
rinnan
to flow (imp.
ran
, p. p.
gerunnen
), and
iernan
,
irnan
, to run (imp.
orn
,
arn
,
earn
, p. p.
urnen
); akin to D.
runnen
,
rennen
, OS. & OHG.
rinnan
, G.
rinnen
,
rennen
, Icel.
renna
,
rinna
, Sw.
rinna
,
ränna
, Dan.
rinde
,
rende
, Goth.
rinnan
, and perh. to L.
oriri
to rise, Gr.
ὀρνύναι
to stir up, rouse, Skr.
ṛ
(cf.
Origin
), or perh. to L.
rivus
brook (cf.
Rival
). √11. Cf.
Ember
,
Adj.
,
Rennet
.]
1.
To move, proceed, advance, pass, go, come, etc., swiftly, smoothly, or with quick action; – said of things animate or inanimate. Hence, to flow, glide, or roll onward, as a stream, a snake, a wagon, etc.; to move by quicker action than in walking, as a person, a horse, a dog.
Specifically: –
2.
Of voluntary or personal action:
(a)
To go swiftly; to pass at a swift pace; to hasten.
“Ha, ha, the fox!” and after him they
ran
.
Chaucer.
(b)
To flee, as from fear or danger.
As from a bear a man would
run
for life.
Shakespeare
(c)
To steal off; to depart secretly.
(d)
To contend in a race; hence, to enter into a contest; to become a candidate; as, to run for Congress.
Know ye not that they which
run
in a race
run
all, but one receiveth the prize? So
run
, that ye may obtain.
1 Cor. ix. 24.
(e)
To pass from one state or condition to another; to come into a certain condition; – often with in or into; as, to run into evil practices; to run in debt.
Have I not cause to rave and beat my breast, to rend my heart with grief and
run
distracted?
Addison.
(f)
To exert continuous activity; to proceed;
as, to
run
through life; to
run
in a circle
.
(g)
To pass or go quickly in thought or conversation; as, to run from one subject to another.
Virgil, in his first Georgic, has
run
into a set of precepts foreign to his subject.
Addison.
(h)
To discuss; to continue to think or speak about something; – with on.
(i)
To make numerous drafts or demands for payment, as upon a bank; – with on.
(j)
To creep, as serpents.
3.
Of involuntary motion:
(a)
To flow, as a liquid; to ascend or descend; to course;
as, rivers
run
to the sea; sap
runs
up in the spring; her blood
ran
cold
.
(b)
To proceed along a surface; to extend; to spread.
The fire
ran
along upon the ground.
Ex. ix. 23.
(c)
To become fluid; to melt; to fuse.
As wax dissolves, as ice begins to
run
.
Addison.
Sussex iron ores
run
freely in the fire.
Woodward.
(d)
To turn, as a wheel; to revolve on an axis or pivot; as, a wheel runs swiftly round.
(e)
To travel; to make progress; to be moved by mechanical means; to go;
as, the steamboat
runs
regularly to Albany; the train
runs
to Chicago
.
(f)
To extend; to reach;
as, the road
runs
from Philadelphia to New York; the memory of man
runneth
not to the contrary
.
She saw with joy the line immortal
run
,
Each sire impressed, and glaring in his son.
Pope.
(g)
To go back and forth from place to place; to ply; as, the stage runs between the hotel and the station.
(h)
To make progress; to proceed; to pass.
As fast as our time
runs
, we should be very glad in most part of our lives that it
ran
much faster.
Addison.
(i)
To continue in operation; to be kept in action or motion;
as, this engine
runs
night and day; the mill
runs
six days in the week
.
When we desire anything, our minds
run
wholly on the good circumstances of it; when it is obtained, our minds run wholly on the bad ones.
Swift.
(j)
To have a course or direction; as, a line runs east and west.
Where the generally allowed practice
runs
counter to it.
Locke.
Little is the wisdom, where the flight
So
runs
against all reason.
Shakespeare
(k)
To be in form thus, as a combination of words.
The king’s ordinary style
runneth
, “Our sovereign lord the king.”
Bp. Sanderson.
(l)
To be popularly known; to be generally received.
Men gave them their own names, by which they
run
a great while in Rome.
Sir W. Temple.
Neither was he ignorant what report
ran
of himself.
Knolles.
(m)
To have growth or development;
as, boys and girls
run
up rapidly
.
If the richness of the ground cause turnips to
run
to leaves.
Mortimer.
(n)
To tend, as to an effect or consequence; to incline.
A man's nature
runs
either to herbs or weeds.
Bacon.
Temperate climates
run
into moderate governments.
Swift.
(o)
To spread and blend together; to unite;
as, colors
run
in washing
.
In the middle of a rainbow the colors are . . . distinguished, but near the borders they
run
into one another.
I. Watts.
(p)
To have a legal course; to be attached; to continue in force, effect, or operation; to follow; to go in company;
as, certain covenants
run
with the land
.
Customs
run
only upon our goods imported or exported, and that but once for all; whereas interest
runs
as well upon our ships as goods, and must be yearly paid.
Sir J. Child.
(q)
To continue without falling due; to hold good;
as, a note has thirty days to
run
.
(r)
To discharge pus or other matter;
as, an ulcer
runs
.
(s)
To be played on the stage a number of successive days or nights;
as, the piece
ran
for six months
.
(t)
(Naut.)
To sail before the wind, in distinction from reaching or sailing closehauled; – said of vessels.
4.
Specifically, of a horse: To move rapidly in a gait in which each leg acts in turn as a propeller and a supporter, and in which for an instant all the limbs are gathered in the air under the body.
Stillman (The Horse in Motion).
5.
(Athletics)
To move rapidly by springing steps so that there is an instant in each step when neither foot touches the ground; – so distinguished from walking in athletic competition.
As things run
,
according to the usual order, conditions, quality, etc.; on the average; without selection or specification.
–
To let run
(Naut.)
,
to allow to pass or move freely; to slacken or loosen.
–
To run after
,
to pursue or follow; to search for; to endeavor to find or obtain;
as,
to run after
similes
.
Locke.
–
To run away
,
to flee; to escape; to elope; to run without control or guidance.
–
To run away with
.
(a)
To convey away hurriedly; to accompany in escape or elopement.
(b)
To drag rapidly and with violence;
as, a horse
runs away with
a carriage
.
–
To run down
.
(a)
To cease to work or operate on account of the exhaustion of the motive power; – said of clocks, watches, etc.
(b)
To decline in condition;
as,
to run down
in health
.
–
To run down a coast
,
to sail along it.
–
To run for an office
,
to stand as a candidate for an office.
–
To run in
or
To run into
.
(a)
To enter; to step in
.
(b)
To come in collision with.
–
To run into
To meet, by chance;
as, I
ran into
my brother at the grocery store
.
–
To run in trust
,
to run in debt; to get credit.
[Obs.]
–
To run in with
.
(a)
To close; to comply; to agree with.
[R.]
T. Baker.
(b)
(Naut.)
To make toward; to near; to sail close to; as, to run in with the land.
–
To run mad
,
To run mad after
or
To run mad on
.
See under
Mad
.
–
To run on
.
(a)
To be continued; as, their accounts had run on for a year or two without a settlement.
(b)
To talk incessantly
.
(c)
To continue a course
.
(d)
To press with jokes or ridicule; to abuse with sarcasm; to bear hard on
.
(e)
(Print.)
To be continued in the same lines, without making a break or beginning a new paragraph
. –
To run out
.
(a)
To come to an end; to expire;
as, the lease
runs out
at Michaelmas
.
(b)
To extend; to spread
. “Insectile animals . . . run all out into legs.”
Hammond.
(c)
To expatiate; as, to run out into beautiful digressions.
(d)
To be wasted or exhausted; to become poor; to become extinct; as, an estate managed without economy will soon run out.

And had her stock been less, no doubt
She must have long ago
run out
.
Dryden.
–
To run over
.
(a)
To overflow;
as, a cup
runs over
, or the liquor
runs over
.
(b)
To go over, examine, or rehearse cursorily
.
(c)
To ride or drive over;
as,
to run over
a child
.
–
To run riot
,
to go to excess.
–
To run through
.
(a)
To go through hastily;
as
to run through
a book
.
(b)
To spend wastefully; as, to run through an estate.
–
To run to seed
,
to expend or exhaust vitality in producing seed, as a plant; figuratively and colloquially, to cease growing; to lose vital force, as the body or mind.
–
To run up
,
to rise; to swell; to grow; to increase; as, accounts of goods credited run up very fast.
But these, having been untrimmed for many years, had
run up
into great bushes, or rather dwarf trees.
Sir W. Scott.
–
To run with
.
(a)
To be drenched with, so that streams flow;
as, the streets
ran with
blood
.
(b)
To flow while charged with some foreign substance
. “Its rivers ran with gold.”
J. H. Newman.

Run

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To cause to run (in the various senses of
Run
,
Verb.
I.
);
as, to
run
a horse; to
run
a stage; to
run
a machine; to
run
a rope through a block
.
2.
To pursue in thought; to carry in contemplation.
To
run
the world back to its first original.
South.
I would gladly understand the formation of a soul, and
run
it up to its “punctum saliens.”
Collier.
3.
To cause to enter; to thrust;
as, to
run
a sword into or through the body; to
run
a nail into the foot
.
You
run
your head into the lion's mouth.
Sir W. Scott.
Having
run
his fingers through his hair.
Dickens.
4.
To drive or force; to cause, or permit, to be driven.
They
ran
the ship aground.
Acts xxvii. 41.
A talkative person
runs
himself upon great inconveniences by blabbing out his own or other's secrets.
Ray.
Others, accustomed to retired speculations,
run
natural philosophy into metaphysical notions.
Locke.
5.
To fuse; to shape; to mold; to cast;
as, to
run
bullets, and the like
.
The purest gold must be
run
and washed.
Felton.
6.
To cause to be drawn; to mark out; to indicate; to determine;
as, to
run
a line
.
7.
To cause to pass, or evade, offical restrictions; to smuggle; – said of contraband or dutiable goods.
Heavy impositions . . . are a strong temptation of
running
goods.
Swift.
8.
To go through or accomplish by running;
as, to
run
a race; to
run
a certain career
.
9.
To cause to stand as a candidate for office; to support for office;
as, to
run
some one for Congress
.
[Colloq. U.S.]
10.
To encounter or incur, as a danger or risk;
as, to
run
the risk of losing one's life. See
To run the chances
, below
.
“He runneth two dangers.”
Bacon.
11.
To put at hazard; to venture; to risk.
He would himself be in the Highlands to receive them, and
run
his fortune with them.
Clarendon.
12.
To discharge; to emit; to give forth copiously; to be bathed with;
as, the pipe or faucet
runs
hot water
.
At the base of Pompey's statua,
Which all the while
ran
blood, great Caesar fell.
Shakespeare
13.
To be charged with, or to contain much of, while flowing;
as, the rivers
ran
blood
.
14.
To conduct; to manage; to carry on;
as, to
run
a factory or a hotel
.
[Colloq. U.S.]
15.
To tease with sarcasms and ridicule.
[Colloq.]
16.
To sew, as 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.
17.
To migrate or move in schools; – said of fish; esp., to ascend a river in order to spawn.
To run a blockade
,
to get to, or away from, a blockaded port in safety.
–
To run down
.
(a)
(Hunting)
To chase till the object pursued is captured or exhausted;
as,
to run down
a stag
.
(b)
(Naut.)
To run against and sink, as a vessel
.
(c)
To crush; to overthrow; to overbear
. “Religion is run down by the license of these times.”
Berkeley.
(d)
To disparage; to traduce.
F. W. Newman.
–
To run hard
.
(a)
To press in competition;
as,
to run
one
hard
in a race
.
(b)
To urge or press importunately
.
(c)
To banter severely.
–
To run into the ground
,
to carry to an absurd extreme; to overdo.
[Slang, U.S.]
–
To run off
,
to cause to flow away, as a charge of molten metal from a furnace.
–
To run on
(Print.)
,
to carry on or continue, as the type for a new sentence, without making a break or commencing a new paragraph.
–
To run out
.
(a)
To thrust or push out; to extend.
(b)
To waste; to exhaust;
as,
to run out
an estate
.
(c)
(Baseball)
To put out while running between two bases. Also called
to run out
.
–
To run the chances
or
To run one's chances
,
to encounter all the risks of a certain course.
–
To run through
,
to transfix; to pierce, as with a sword.
“[He] was run through the body by the man who had asked his advice.”
Addison.
–
To run up
.
(a)
To thrust up, as anything long and slender.
(b)
To increase; to enlarge by additions, as an account
.
(c)
To erect hastily, as a building
.

Run

,
Noun.
1.
The act of running;
as, a long
run
; a good
run
; a quick
run
; to go on the
run
.
2.
A small stream; a brook; a creek.
3.
That which runs or flows in the course of a certain operation, or during a certain time;
as, a
run
of must in wine making; the first
run
of sap in a maple orchard
.
4.
A course; a series; that which continues in a certain course or series;
as, a
run
of good or bad luck
.
They who made their arrangements in the first
run
of misadventure . . . put a seal on their calamities.
Burke.
5.
State of being current; currency; popularity.
It is impossible for detached papers to have a general
run
, or long continuance, if not diversified with humor.
Addison.
6.
Continued repetition on the stage; – said of a play;
as, to have a
run
of a hundred successive nights
.
A canting, mawkish play . . . had an immense
run
.
Macaulay.
7.
A continuing urgent demand; especially, a pressure on a bank or treasury for payment of its notes.
8.
A range or extent of ground for feeding stock;
as, a sheep
run
.
Howitt.
9.
(Naut.)
(a)
The aftermost part of a vessel's hull where it narrows toward the stern, under the quarter.
(b)
The distance sailed by a ship;
as, a good
run
; a
run
of fifty miles
.
(c)
A voyage;
as, a
run
to China
.
10.
A pleasure excursion; a trip.
[Colloq.]
I think of giving her a
run
in London.
Dickens.
11.
(Mining)
The horizontal distance to which a drift may be carried, either by license 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.
12.
(Mus.)
A roulade, or series of running tones.
13.
(Mil.)
The greatest degree of swiftness in marching. It is executed upon the same principles as the double-quick, but with greater speed.
14.
The act of migrating, or ascending a river to spawn; – said of fish; also, an assemblage or school of fishes which migrate, or ascend a river for the purpose of spawning.
The “
runs
” are made from wicket to wicket, the batsmen interchanging ends at each
run
.
R. A. Proctor.
16.
A pair or set of millstones.
At the long run
, now, commonly,
In the long run
,
in or during the whole process or course of things taken together; in the final result; in the end; finally.

[Man] starts the inferior of the brute animals, but he surpasses them
in the long run
.
J. H. Newman.
I saw nothing else that is superior to
the common run
of parks.
Walpole.
Burns never dreamed of looking down on others as beneath him, merely because he was conscious of his own vast superiority to
the common run
of men.
Prof. Wilson.
His whole appearance was something out of
the common run
.
W. Irving.
–
To let go by the run
(Naut.)
,
to loosen and let run freely, as lines; to let fall without restraint, as a sail.

Run

,
Adj.
1.
Melted, or made from molten material; cast in a mold;
as,
run
butter;
run
iron or lead
.
2.
Smuggled;
as,
run
goods
.
[Colloq.]
Miss Edgeworth.
Run steel
,
malleable iron castings. See under
Malleable
.
Raymond.

Webster 1828 Edition

Run

RUN

,
Verb.
I.
pret. ran or run; pp. run.
1.
To move or pass in almost any manner, as on the feet or on wheels. Men and other animals run on their feet; carriages run on wheels, and wheels run on their axle-trees.
2.
To move or pass on the feet with celerity or rapidity, by leaps or long quick steps; as, men and quadrupeds run when in haste.
3.
To use the legs in moving; to step; as, children run alone or run about.
4.
To move in a hurry.
The priest and people run about.
5.
To proceed along the surface; to extend; to spread; as, the fire runs over a field or forest.
The fire ran along upon the ground. Ex. 9.
6.
To rush with violence; as, a ship runs against a rock; or one ship runs against another.
7.
To move or pass on the water; to sail; as, ships run regularly between New York and Liverpool. Before a storm, run into a harbor, or under the lee of the land. The ship has run ten knots an hour.
8.
To contend in a race; as, men or horses run for a prize.
9.
To flee for escape. When General Wolfe was dying, an officer standing by him exclaimed, see how they run. Who run? said the dying hero. The enemy, said the officer. Then I die happy, said the general.
10.
To depart privately; to steal away.
My conscience will serve me to run from this Jew, my master.
11.
To flow in any manner, slowly or rapidly; to move or pass; as a fluid. Rivers run to the ocean or to lakes. The Connecticut runs on sand, and its water is remarkably pure. The tide runs two or three miles an hour. Tears run down the cheeks.
12.
To emit; to let flow.
I command that the conduit run nothing but claret.
Rivers run potable gold.
But this form of expression is elliptical, with being omitted; 'rivers run with potable gold.'
13.
To be liquid or fluid.
As wax dissolves, as ice begin to run -
14.
To be fusible; to melt.
Sussex iron ores run freely in the fire.
15.
To fuse; to melt.
Your iron must not burn in the fire, that is, run or melt, for then it will be brittle.
16.
To turn; as, a wheel runs on an axis or on a pivot.
17.
To pass; to proceed; as, to run through a course of business; to run through life; to run in a circle or a line; to run through all degrees of promotion.
18.
To flow, as words, language or periods. The lines run smoothly.
19.
To pass, as time.
As fast as our time runs, we should be glad in most part of our lives that it ran much faster.
20.
To have a legal course; to be attached to; to have legal effect.
Customs run only upon our goods imported or exported, and that but once for all; whereas interest runs as well upon our ships as goods, and must be yearly paid.
21.
To have a course or direction.
Where the generally allowed practice runs counter to it.
Little is the wisdom, where the flight so runs against all reason.
22.
To pass in thought, speech or practice; as, to run through a series of arguments; to run from one topic to another.
Virgil, in his first Georgic, has run into a set of precepts foreign to his subject.
23.
To be mentioned cursorily or in few words.
The whole runs on short, like articles in an account.
24.
To have a continued tenor or course. The conversation ran on the affairs of the Greeks.
The king's ordinary style runneth, 'our sovereign lord the king.'
25.
To be in motion; to speak incessantly. Her tongue runs continually.
26.
To be busied; to dwell.
When we desire any thing, our minds run wholly on the good circumstances of it; when it is obtained, our minds run wholly on the bad ones.
27.
To be popularly known.
Men gave then their own names, by which they run a great while in Rome.
28.
To be received; to have reception, success or continuance. The pamphlet runs well among a certain class of people.
29.
To proceed in succession.
She saw with joy the line immortal run, each sire impress'd and glaring in his son.
30.
To pass from one state or condition to another; as, to run into confusion or error; to run distracted.
31.
To proceed in a train of conduct.
You should run a certain course.
32.
To be in force.
The owner hath incurred the forfeiture of eight years profits of his lands, before he cometh to the knowledge of the process that runneth against him.
33.
To be generally received.
He was not ignorant what report run of himself.
34.
To be carried; to extend; to rise; as, debates run high.
In popish countries, the power of the clergy runs higher.
35.
To have a track or course.
Searching the ulcer with my probe, the sinus run up above the orifice.
36.
To extend; to lie in continued length. Veins of silver run in different directions.
37.
To have a certain direction. The line runs east and west.
38.
To pass in an orbit of any figure. The planets run their periodical courses. The comets do not run lawless through the regions of space.
39.
To tend in growth or progress. Pride is apt to run into a contempt of others.
40.
To grow exuberantly. Young persons of 10 or 12 years old, soon run up to men and women.
If the richness of the ground cause turnips to run to leaves, treading down the leaves will help their rooting.
41.
To discharge pus or other matter; as, an ulcer runs.
42.
To reach; to extend to the remembrance of; as time out of mind, the memory of which runneth not to the contrary.
43.
To continue in time, before it becomes due and payable; as, a note runs thirty days; a note of six months has ninety days to run.
44.
To continue in effect, force or operation.
The statute may be prevented from running - by the act of the creditor.
45.
To press with numerous demands of payment; as, to run upon a bank.
46.
To pass or fall into fault, vice or misfortune; as, to run into vice; to run into evil practices; to run into debt; to run into mistakes.
47.
To fall or pass by gradual changes; to make a transition; as, colors run one into another.
48.
To have a general tendency.
Temperate climates run into moderate governments.
49.
To proceed as on a ground or principle. Obs.
50.
To pass or proceed in conduct or management.
Tarquin, running into all the methods of tyranny, after a cruel reign was expelled.
51.
To creep; to move by creeping or crawling; as, serpents run on the ground.
52.
To slide; as, a sled or sleigh runs on the snow.
53.
To dart; to shoot; as a meteor in the sky.
54.
To fly; to move in the air; as, the clouds run from N.E. to S.W.
55.
In Scripture, to pursue or practice the duties of religion.
Ye did run well; who did hinder you? Gal. 5.
56.
In elections, to have interest or favor; to be supported by votes. The candidate will not run, or he will run well.
1.
To run after, to pursue or follow.
2.
To search for; to endeavor to find or obtain; as, to run after similes.
To run at, to attack with the horns, as a bull.
To run away, to flee; to escape.
1.
To run away with, to hurry without deliberation.
2.
To convey away; or to assist in escape or elopement.
To run in, to enter; to step in.
To run into, to enter; as, to run into danger.
To run in trust, to run in debt; to get credit. [Not in use.]
1.
To run in with, to close; to comply; to agree with. [Unusual.]
2.
To make towards; to near; to sail close to; as, to run in with the land; a seaman's phrase.
To run down a coast, to sail along it.
1.
To run on, to be continued. Their accounts had run on for a year or two without a settlement.
2.
To talk incessantly.
3.
To continue a course.
4.
To press with jokes or ridicule; to abuse with sarcasms; to bear hard on.
To run over, to overflow; as, a cup runs over; or the liquor runs over.
1.
To run out, to come to an end; to expire; as, a lease runs out at Michaelmas.
2.
To spread exuberantly; as, insectile animals run out into legs.
3.
To expatiate; as, to run out into beautiful digressions. He runs out in praise of Milton.
4.
To be wasted or exhausted; as, an estate managed without economy, will soon run out.
5.
To become poor by extravagance.
And had her stock been less, no doubt she must have long ago run out.
To run up, to rise; to swell; to amount. Accounts of goods credited run up very fast.

RUN

, v.t.
1.
To drive or push; in a general sense. Hence to run a sword through the body, is to stab or pierce it.
2.
To drive; to force.
A talkative person runs himself upon great inconveniences, by blabbing out his own or others' secrets.
Others accustomed to retired speculations, run natural philosophy into metaphysical notions.
3.
To cause to be driven.
They ran the ship aground. Acts 27.
4.
To melt; to fuse.
The purest gold must be run and washed.
5.
To incur; to encounter; to run the risk or hazard of losing one's property. To run the danger, is a phrase not now in use.
6.
To venture; to hazard.
He would himself be in the Highlands to receive them, and run his fortune with them.
7.
To smuggle; to import or export without paying the duties required by law; as, to run goods.
8.
To pursue in thought; to carry in contemplation; as, to run the world back to its first original.
I would gladly understand the formation of a soul, and run it up to its punctum saliens.
9.
To push; to thrust; as, to run the hand into the pocket or the bosom; to run a nail into the foot.
10.
To ascertain and mark by metes and bounds; as, to run a line between towns or states.
11.
To cause to ply; to maintain in running or passing; as, to run a stage coach from London to Bristol; to run a line of packets from New Haven to New York.
12.
To cause to pass; as, to run a rope through a block.
13.
To found; to shape, form or make in a mold; to cast; as, to run buttons or balls.
1.
To run down, in hunting, to chase to weariness; as, to run down a stag.
2.
In navigation, to run down a vessel, is to run against her, end on, and sink her.
3.
To crush; to overthrow; to overbear.
Religion is run down by the license of these times.
1.
To run hard, to press with jokes, sarcasm or ridicule.
2.
To urge or press importunately.
1.
To run over, to recount in a cursory manner; to narrate hastily; as, to run over the particulars of a story.
2.
To consider cursorily.
3.
To pass the eye over hastily.
1.
To run out, to thrust or push out; to extend.
2.
To waste; to exhaust; as, to run out an estate.
To run through, to expend; to waste; as, to run through an estate.
1.
To run up, to increase; to enlarge by additions. A man who takes goods on credit, is apt to run up his account to a large sum before he is aware of it.
2.
To thrust up, as any thing long and slender.

RUN

, n.
1.
The act of running.
2.
Course; motion; as the run of humor.
3.
Flow; as a run of verses to please the ear.
4.
Course; process; continued series; as the run of events.
5.
Way; will; uncontrolled course.
Our family must have their run.
6.
General reception; continued success.
It is impossible for detached papers to have a general run or long continuance, if not diversified with humor.
7.
Modish or popular clamor; as a violent run against university education.
8.
A general or uncommon pressure on a bank or treasury for payment of its notes.
9.
The aftmost part of a ship's bottom.
10.
The distance sailed by a ship; as, we had a good run.
11.
A voyage; also, an agreement among sailors to work a passage from one place to another.
12.
A pair of mill-stones. A mill has two, four or six runs of stones.
13.
Prevalence; as, a disease, opinion or fashion has its run.
14.
In the middle and southern states of America, a small stream; a brook.
In the long run, [at the long run, not so generally used,] signifies the whole process or course of things taken together; in the final result; in the conclusion or end.
The run of mankind, the generality of people.

Definition 2024

run

run

See also: rún, rùn, Rún, and rǔn

English

Alternate forms

  • rin (dialectal)

Verb

a runner running (sense 1)
Women running (sense 1) in a 100-meter foot race

run ‎(third-person singular simple present runs, present participle running, simple past ran, past participle run)

  1. (vertebrates) To move swiftly.
    1. (intransitive) To move forward quickly upon two feet by alternately making a short jump off either foot. (Compare walk.)
      Run, Sarah, run!‎
    2. (intransitive) To go at a fast pace, to move quickly.
      The horse ran the length of the track.  I have been running all over the building looking for him.  Sorry, I've got to run; my house is on fire.‎
    3. (transitive) To cause to move quickly; to make move lightly.
      Every day I run my dog across the field and back.  I'll just run the vacuum cleaner over the carpet.  Run your fingers through my hair.  Can you run these data through the program for me and tell me whether it gives an error?‎
    4. (transitive or intransitive) To compete in a race.
      The horse will run the Preakness next year.  I'm not ready to run a marathon.‎
    5. (intransitive) Of fish, to migrate for spawning.
    6. (intransitive, soccer) To carry a football down the field.
    7. (transitive) To achieve or perform by running or as if by running.
      The horse ran a great race.  He is running an expensive campaign.‎
    8. (intransitive) To flee away from a danger or towards help.
      Whenever things get tough, she cuts and runs.  When he's broke, he runs to me for money.‎
    9. (transitive, juggling, colloquial) To juggle a pattern continuously, as opposed to starting and stopping quickly.
  2. (fluids) To flow.
    1. (intransitive, figuratively) To move or spread quickly.
      There's a strange story running around the neighborhood.  The flu is running through my daughter's kindergarten.‎
    2. (intransitive) Of a liquid, to flow.
      The river runs through the forest.  There's blood running down your leg.‎
    3. (intransitive) Of an object, to have a liquid flowing from it.
      Your nose is running.  Why is the hose still running?  My cup runneth over.‎
    4. (transitive) To make a liquid flow; to make liquid flow from an object.
      You'll have to run the water a while before it gets hot.  Run the tap until the water gets hot.‎
    5. (intransitive) To become liquid; to melt.
    6. (intransitive) To leak or spread in an undesirable fashion; to bleed (especially used of dye or paint).
      He discovered during washing that the red rug ran on his white sheet, staining it pink.‎
    7. To fuse; to shape; to mould; to cast.
      to run bullets‎
      • Henry Felton (1679-1740)
        The fairest diamonds are rough till they are polished, and the purest gold must be run and washed, and sifted in the ore.
    8. (figuratively, transitive) To go through without stopping, usually illegally.
      run a red light or stop sign;  run a blockade‎
  3. (nautical, of a vessel) To sail before the wind, in distinction from reaching or sailing close-hauled.
  4. (social) To carry out an activity.
    1. (transitive) To control or manage, be in charge of.
      My uncle ran a corner store for forty years.  She runs the fundraising.  My parents think they run my life.‎
      • 1972 December 29, Richard Schickel, “Masterpieces underrated and overlooked”, in Life, volume 73, number 25, page 22:
        A friend of mine who runs an intellectual magazine was grousing about his movie critic, complaining that though the fellow had liked The Godfather (page 58), he had neglected to label it clearly as a masterpiece.
      • 2013 May 11, “What a waste”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8835, page 12:
        India is run by gerontocrats and epigones: grey hairs and groomed heirs.
    2. (intransitive) To be a candidate in an election.
      I have decided to run for governor of California.  We're trying to find somebody to run against him next year.‎
    3. (transitive) To make run in a race or an election.
      He ran his best horse in the Derby.  The Green Party is running twenty candidates in this election.‎
    4. To exert continuous activity; to proceed.
      to run through life;  to run in a circle‎
    5. (intransitive) To be presented in one of the media.
      The story will run on the 6-o'clock news.  The latest Robin Williams movie is running at the Silver City theatre.  Her picture ran on the front page of the newspaper.‎
    6. (transitive) To print or broadcast in the media.
      run a story;  run an ad‎
    7. (transitive) To transport someone or something.
      Could you run me over to the store?  Please run this report upstairs to director's office.‎
    8. (transitive) To smuggle illegal goods.
      to run guns;  to run rum‎
      • Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)
        Heavy impositions […] are a strong temptation of running goods.
    9. (transitive, agriculture) To sort through a large volume of produce in quality control.
      Looks like we're gonna have to run the tomatoes again.‎
  5. To extend or persist, statically or dynamically, through space or time.
    1. (intransitive) To extend in space or through a range (often with a measure phrase).
      The border runs for 3000 miles.  The leash runs along a wire.  The grain of the wood runs to the right on this table.  It ran in quality from excellent to substandard.‎
    2. (intransitive) To extend in time, to last, to continue (usually with a measure phrase).
      The sale will run for ten days.  The contract runs through 2008.  The meeting ran late.  The book runs 655 pages.  The speech runs as follows: …‎
    3. (transitive) To make something extend in space.
      I need to run this wire along the wall.‎
    4. (intransitive) Of a machine, including computer programs, to be operating or working normally.
      My car stopped running.  That computer runs twenty-four hours a day.  Buses don't run here on Sunday.‎
    5. (transitive) To make a machine operate.
      It's full. You can run the dishwasher now.  Don't run the engine so fast.‎
  6. (transitive) To execute or carry out a plan, procedure, or program.
    They ran twenty blood tests on me and they still don't know what's wrong.  Our coach had us running plays for the whole practice.  I will run the sample.  Don't run that software unless you have permission.  My computer is too old to run the new OS.‎
  7. To pass or go quickly in thought or conversation.
    to run from one subject to another‎
    • Joseph Addison (1672-1719)
      Virgil, in his first Georgic, has run into a set of precepts foreign to his subject.
  8. (copulative) To become different in a way mentioned (usually to become worse).
    Our supplies are running low.  They frequently overspent and soon ran into debt.‎
    • Joseph Addison (1672-1719)
      Have I not cause to rave and beat my breast, to rend my heart with grief and run distracted?
    • 1968, Paul Simon, The Boxer (song)
      I was no more than a boy / In the company of strangers / In the quiet of the railway station / Running scared.
  9. (transitive) To cost a large amount of money.
    Buying a new laptop will run you a thousand dollars.  Laptops run about a thousand dollars apiece.‎
  10. (intransitive) Of stitches or stitched clothing, to unravel.
    My stocking is running.‎
  11. To pursue in thought; to carry in contemplation.
    • Robert South (1634–1716)
      to run the world back to its first original
    • Arthur Collier (1680-1732)
      I would gladly understand the formation of a soul, and run it up to its punctum saliens.
  12. To cause to enter; to thrust.
    to run a sword into or through the body;  to run a nail into one's foot‎
    • Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)
      You run your head into the lion's mouth.
    • Charles Dickens (1812-1870)
      having run his fingers through his hair
    • 1977, Agatha Christie, An Autobiography, Part II, chapter4:
      There was also hairdressing: hairdressing, too, really was hairdressing in those times — no running a comb through it and that was that. It was curled, frizzed, waved, put in curlers overnight, waved with hot tongs; […].
  13. To drive or force; to cause, or permit, to be driven.
    • Bible, Acts xxvii. 41
      They ran the ship aground.
    • John Ray (1627-1705)
      A talkative person runs himself upon great inconveniences by blabbing out his own or other's secrets.
    • John Locke (1632-1705)
      Others, accustomed to retired speculations, run natural philosophy into metaphysical notions.
  14. To cause to be drawn; to mark out; to indicate; to determine.
    to run a line‎
  15. To encounter or incur (a danger or risk).
    to run the risk of losing one's life‎
  16. To put at hazard; to venture; to risk.
    • Earl of Clarendon (1609-1674)
      He would himself be in the Highlands to receive them, and run his fortune with them.
  17. To tease with sarcasms and ridicule.
  18. 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.
  19. To control or have precedence in a card game.
    Every three or four hands he would run the table.‎
  20. To be in form thus, as a combination of words.
    • Robert Sanderson (1587-1663)
      The king's ordinary style runneth, "Our sovereign lord the king."
    • 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 5, in A Cuckoo in the Nest:
      The departure was not unduly prolonged. In the road Mr. Love and the driver favoured the company with a brief chanty running: “Got it?—No, I ain't, 'old on,—Got it? Got it?—No, 'old on sir.”
  21. (archaic) To be popularly known; to be generally received.
    • William Temple (1628–1699)
      Men gave them their own names, by which they run a great while in Rome.
    • Richard Knolles (1545-1610)
      Neither was he ignorant what report ran of himself.
  22. To have growth or development.
    Boys and girls run up rapidly.‎
    • John Mortimer (1656?-1736)
      if the richness of the ground cause turnips to run to leaves
  23. To tend, as to an effect or consequence; to incline.
    • Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
      A man's nature runs either to herbs or weeds.
    • Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)
      Temperate climates run into moderate governments.
  24. 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.‎
    • Sir Josiah Child (1630-1699)
      Customs run only upon our goods imported or exported, and that but once for all; whereas interest runs as well upon our ships as goods, and must be yearly paid.
  25. (golf) To strike (the ball) in such a way as to cause it to run along the ground, as when approaching a hole.
  26. (video games, rare) To speedrun.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

diagram of stairs, showing the run
Stockings with a run (line of stitches that has come undone) in them

run ‎(plural runs)

  1. Act or instance of running, of moving rapidly using the feet.
    I just got back from my morning run.
    • 2012 June 9, Owen Phillips, “Euro 2012: Netherlands 0-1 Denmark”, in BBC Sport:
      Krohn-Dehli took advantage of a lucky bounce of the ball after a battling run on the left flank by Simon Poulsen, dummied two defenders and shot low through goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg's legs after 24 minutes.
  2. Act or instance of hurrying (to or from a place) (not necessarily by foot); dash or errand, trip.
    • 1759, N. Tindal, The Continuation of Mr Rapin's History of England, volume 21 (continuation volume 9), page 92:
      […] and on the 18th of January this squadron put to sea. The first place of rendezvous was the boy of port St. Julian, upon the coast of Patagonia, and all accidents were provided against with admirable foresight. Their run to port St. Julian was dangerous […]
    I need to make a run to the store.
  3. A pleasure trip.
    Let's go for a run in the car.
    • Charles Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit
      And I think of giving her a run in London for a change.
  4. Flight, instance or period of fleeing.
    • 2006, Tsirk Susej, The Demonic Bible (ISBN 1411690737), page 41:
      During his run from the police, he claimed to have a metaphysical experience which can only be described as “having passed through an abyss.”
  5. Migration (of fish).
  6. A group of fish that migrate, or ascend a river for the purpose of spawning.
  7. (skiing, bobsledding) A single trip down a hill, as in skiing and bobsledding.
  8. A (regular) trip or route.
    The bus on the Cherry Street run is always crowded.
  9. The route taken while running or skiing.
    Which run did you do today?
  10. The distance sailed by a ship.
    a good run; a run of fifty miles
    • 1977, Star Wars (film)
      You've never heard of the Millennium Falcon? It's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs.
  11. A voyage.
    a run to China
  12. An enclosure for an animal; a track or path along which something can travel.
    He set up a rabbit run.
  13. (Australia, New Zealand) Rural landholding for farming, usually for running sheep, and operated by a runholder.
  14. State of being current; currency; popularity.
    • Addison
      It is impossible for detached papers to have a general run, or long continuance, if not diversified with humour.
  15. A continuous period (of time) marked by a trend; a period marked by a continuing trend.
    I’m having a run of bad luck.
    He went to Las Vegas and spent all his money over a three-day run.
    • Burke
      They who made their arrangements in the first run of misadventure […] put a seal on their calamities.
    • 2011 June 28, Piers Newbery, “Wimbledon 2011: Sabine Lisicki beats Marion Bartoli”, in BBC Sport:
      German wildcard Sabine Lisicki conquered her nerves to defeat France's Marion Bartoli and take her amazing Wimbledon run into the semi-finals.
    1. A series of tries in a game that were successful.
  16. (card games) A sequence of cards in a suit in a card game.
  17. (music) A rapid passage in music, especially along a scale.
  18. A trial.
    The data got lost, so I'll have to perform another run of the experiment.
  19. A flow of liquid; a leak.
    The constant run of water from the faucet annoys me.
    a run of must in wine-making
    the first run of sap in a maple orchard
  20. (chiefly eastern Midland US, chiefly Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia) A small creek or part thereof. (Compare Southern US branch and New York and New England brook.)
    The military campaign near that creek was known as "The battle of Bull Run".
  21. A production quantity (such as in a factory).
    Yesterday we did a run of 12,000 units.
    The book’s initial press run will be 5,000 copies.
  22. The length of a showing of a play, film, TV series, etc.
    The run of the show lasted two weeks, and we sold out every night.
    It is the last week of our French cinema run.
    • Macaulay
      A canting, mawkish play […] had an immense run.
  23. A quick pace, faster than a walk.
    He broke into a run.
    1. (of horses) A fast gallop.
  24. 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.
  25. Any sudden large demand for something.
    There was a run on Christmas presents.
  26. The top of a step on a staircase, also called a tread, as opposed to the rise.
  27. The horizontal length of a set of stairs
  28. A standard or unexceptional group or category.
    He stood out from the usual run of applicants.
  29. (baseball) A score (point scored) by a runner making it around all the bases and over home plate.
  30. (cricket) A point scored.
  31. (American football) A gain of a (specified) distance; a running play.
    […] one of the greatest runs of all time.
    • 2003, Jack Seibold, Spartan Sports Encyclopedia, page 592:
      Aaron Roberts added an insurance touchdown on a one-yard run.
  32. (Can we clean up(+) this sense?) Unrestricted use of.
    He can have the run of the house.
  33. A line of knit stitches that have unravelled, particularly in a nylon stocking.
    I have a run in my stocking.
  34. (nautical) The stern of the underwater body of a ship from where it begins to curve upward and inward.
  35. (construction) Horizontal dimension of a slope.
  36. (mining) 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.
  37. A pair or set of millstones.
  38. (video games) A playthrough.
    This was my first successful run without losing any health.
  39. (slang) A period of extended (usually daily) drug use.
    • 1964 : Heroin by The Velvet Underground
      And I'll tell ya, things aren't quite the same / When I'm rushing on my run.
    • 1975, Lloyd Y. Young, Mary Anne Koda-Kimble, Brian S. Katcher, Applied Therapeutics for Clinical Pharmacists
      Frank Fixwell, a 25 year-old male, has been on a heroin "run" (daily use) for the past two years.
    • 1977, Richard P. Rettig, Manual J. Torres, Gerald R. Garrett, Manny: a criminal-addict's story, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) (ISBN 9780395248386)
      I was hooked on dope, and hooked bad, during this whole period, but I was also hooked behind robbery. When you're on a heroin run, you stay loaded so long as you can score.
    • 2001, Robin J. Harman, Handbook of Pharmacy Health Education, Pharmaceutical Press (ISBN 9780853694717), page 172
      This can develop quite quickly (over a matter of hours) during a cocaine run or when cocaine use becomes a daily habit.
    • 2010, Robert DuPont, The Selfish Brain: Learning from Addiction, Hazelden Publishing (ISBN 9781592859535), page 158
      DA depletion leads to the crash that characteristically ends a cocaine run.
  40. (golf) The movement communicated to a golf ball by running it.
  41. (golf) The distance a ball travels after touching the ground from a stroke.
  42. (video games, rare) A speedrun.

Synonyms

  • (horizontal part of a step): tread
  • (unravelling): ladder (British)
  • (computing): execute, start
  • See also Wikisaurus:walk

Antonyms

  • (horizontal part of a step): rise, riser
  • (horizontal distance of a set of stairs): rise

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Adjective

run ‎(not comparable)

  1. In a liquid state; melted or molten.
    Put some run butter on the vegetables.
    • 1921, L. W. Ferris, H. W. Redfield and W. R. North, The Volatile Acids and the Volatile Oxidizable Substances of Cream and Experimental Butter, in the Journal of Dairy Science, volume 4 (1921), page 522:
      Samples of the regular run butter were sealed in 1 pound tins and sent to Washington, where the butter was scored and examined.
  2. Cast in a mould.
    • 1735, Thomas Frankz, A tour through France, Flanders, and Germany: in a letter to Robert Savil, page 18:
      […] the Sides are generally made of Holland's Tiles, or Plates of run Iron, ornamented variously as Fancy dictates, […]
    • 1833, The Cabinet Cyclopaedia: A treatise on the progressive improvement and present state of the Manufactures in Metal, volume 2, Iron and Steel (printed in London), page 314:
      Vast quantities are cast in sand moulds, with that kind of run steel which is so largely used in the production of common table-knives and forks.
    • c. 1839, (Richard of Raindale, The Plan of my House vindicated, quoted by) T. T. B. in the Dwelling of Richard of Raindale, King of the Moors, published in The Mirror, number 966, 7 September 1839, page 153:
      For making tea I have a kettle,
      Besides a pan made of run metal;
      An old arm-chair, in which I sit well —
      The back is round.
  3. Exhausted; depleted (especially with "down" or "out").
  4. (of a fish) Travelled, migrated; having made a migration or a spawning run.
    • 1889, Henry Cholmondeley-Pennell, Fishing: Salmon and Trout, fifth edition, page 185:
      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.
    • 1986, Arthur Oglesby, Fly fishing for salmon and sea trout, page 15:
      It may be very much a metallic appearance as opposed to the silver freshness of a recently run salmon.
    • 2005, Rod Sutterby, Malcolm Greenhalgh, Atlantic Salmon: An Illustrated Natural History, page 86:
      Thus, on almost any day of the year, a fresh-run salmon may be caught legally somewhere in the British Isles.

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: daughter · makes · laws · #539: run · position · copy · opened

Anagrams

Dutch

Pronunciation

Verb

run

  1. first-person singular present indicative of runnen
  2. imperative of runnen

Gothic

Romanization

run

  1. Romanization of 𐍂𐌿𐌽

Lojban

Rafsi

run

  1. rafsi of rutni.

Mandarin

Romanization

run

  1. Nonstandard spelling of rún.
  2. Nonstandard spelling of rùn.

Usage notes

  • English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

Norman

Noun

run m ‎(plural runs)

  1. (nautical) beam (of a ship)

Old English

Etymology

From the Proto-Germanic *rūnō. Cognate with the Old Saxon rūna, Old High German rūna (German Raun), Old Norse rún, and Gothic 𐍂𐌿𐌽𐌰 ‎(rūna).

Pronunciation

Noun

rūn f ‎(nominative plural rūna or rūne)

  1. mystery, secret
    rune healdan (to keep one's counsel)
  2. advice, counsel
  3. writing; a rune

Descendants

See also

Polish

Noun

run

  1. Genitive plural of runo.

Etymology

From Middle English ronnen ‎(“to run”), alteration (due to the past participle 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”) (compare also *rannijaną ‎(“to make run”)), from Proto-Indo-European *ren- ‎(“to rise; to sink”). Cognate with Scots rin ‎(“to run”), West Frisian rinne ‎(“to walk, march”), Dutch rennen ‎(“to run, race”), German rennen ‎(“to run”), rinnen ‎(“to flow”), Danish rende ‎(“to run”), and Swedish rinna ‎(“to run”), Icelandic renna ‎(“to flow”). Non-Germanic cognates include Albanian rend ‎(“to run, run after”). See random.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɹʌn/
  • Rhymes: -ʌn
  • IPA(key): /ruːn/

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