- Move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
"The children ran to the store"; "Don't run — you'll be out of breath"
- Flee; take to one's heels; cut and run
"If you see this man, run!";
- scat [informal], scarper [Brit, informal], turn tail [informal], lam [N. Amer, informal], run away, hightail it [N. Amer, informal], bunk [informal], head for the hills [informal], take to the woods [informal], escape, fly the coop [informal], break away, leg it [Brit, informal]
- Cover by running; run a certain distance
"She ran 10 miles that day"
- Be operating, running or functioning
"The car is still running — turn it off!"
- Carry out a process or program, as on a computer or a machine
"Run the dishwasher"; "run a new program on the Mac";
- execute
- Perform as intended or designed
"Does this old car still run well?";
- function, work, operate, go
- Stretch out over a distance, space, time, or scope; run or extend between two points or beyond a certain point
"Service runs all the way to Cranbury";
- go, pass, lead, extend
- Direct or control (projects, businesses, etc.)
"She is running a relief operation in the Sudan";
- operate
- Move along, of liquids
"Water ran into the cave";
- flow, feed, course
- Stand or compete for an office or a position
"Who's running for treasurer this year?";
- campaign
- Move about freely and without restraint, or act as if running around in an uncontrolled way
"let the dogs run free"; "who are these people running around in the building?"; "She runs around telling everyone of her troubles"
- Have a tendency or disposition to do or be something; be inclined
"These dresses run small";
- tend, be given, lean, incline
- Be affected by; be subjected to
"run a temperature"; "run a risk"
- Continue or remain in existence, esp. despite time, difficulty or opposition
"The festival has run for over fifty years";
- prevail, persist, die hard, endure
- Occur persistently
"Musical talent runs in the family"
- Include as the content; broadcast or publicize
"We ran the ad three times";
- carry
- Conduct to completion
"run an errand"
- Pass over, across, or through
"He ran his eyes over her body"; "She ran her fingers along the carved figurine";
- guide, draw, pass
- Cause something to lie along a particular path
"Run the wire behind the cabinet";
- lead
- Cause an animal to move fast
"run the dogs"
- Extend or continue for a certain period of time
"The film runs 5 hours";
- run for
- Sail before the wind
"The ship ran before the gale"
- Set animals loose to graze
"The farmer ran the cattle in the pasture"
- Keep company
"the heifers run with the bulls to produce offspring";
- consort
- Travel rapidly, by any (unspecified) means
"Run to the store!"; "She always runs to Italy, because she has a lover there";
- nip [Brit, informal]
- Travel a route regularly
"Ships run the waters near the coast";
- ply
- Compete in a race
"he is running the Marathon this year";
- race
- Progress by being changed
"run through your presentation before the meeting";
- move, go
- Reduce or cause to be reduced from a solid to a liquid state, usually by heating
"The chocolate will run if left in the sun";
- melt, melt down
- Come unraveled or undone as if by snagging
"Her nylons were running";
- ladder [Brit]
- Become undone
"the sweater ran";
- unravel
- Have a particular form
"the story or argument runs as follows";
- go
- Change or be different within limits
"Interest rates run from 5 to 10 percent";
- range
- Cause to emit recorded audio or video
"They ran the tapes over and over again";
- play
- Change from one state to another
"run riot"; "run amok"; "run rogue"
- Cause to perform
"run a subject"; "run a process"
- Pursue for food or sport (as of wild animals)
"The dogs are running deer";
- hunt, hunt down, track down
- Be diffused
"These dyes and colours are guaranteed not to run";
- bleed
- (sport) run with the ball; in such sports as football
"The quarterback ran the ball for a touchdown"
- (sport) make without a miss
"The player ran the table in billiards, sinking every shot"
- Deal in illegally, such as arms or liquor
"They ran cigarettes to avoid taxes";
- black-market
- The act of running; travelling on foot at a fast pace
"he broke into a run"; "his daily run keeps him fit";
- running
- A race run on foot
"she broke the record for the half-mile run";
- footrace, foot race
- The continuous period of time during which something (a machine or a factory) operates or continues in operation
"the assembly line was on a 12-hour run"
- The production achieved during a continuous period of operation (of a machine or factory etc.)
"a daily run of 100,000 gallons of paint"
- The act of testing something
"in the experimental runs the amount of carbon was measured separately";
- test, trial
- An unbroken series of events
"Nicklaus had a run of birdies";
- streak
- A regular trip
"the ship made its run in record time"
- Unrestricted freedom to use
"he has the run of the house"
- A small stream
"Children played in the shallow run behind their house";
- rivulet, rill, runnel, streamlet
- A race between candidates for elective office
"he is raising money for a Senate run";
- political campaign, campaign
- A row of unravelled stitches
"she got a run in her stocking";
- ladder, ravel
- The pouring forth of a fluid
"The run of water from the dam was carefully controlled";
- discharge, outpouring
- An unbroken chronological sequence
"the play had a long run on Broadway"; "the team enjoyed a brief run of victories"
- A short trip
"take a run into town";
- sortie
- (baseball) a score in baseball made by a runner touching all four bases safely
"the Yankees scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th";
- tally
- (cricket) a scoring unit corresponding to the batsmen running between the wickets
"The batsman scored three runs off the last ball"
- (American football) a play in which a player attempts to carry the ball through or past the opposing team
"the defensive line braced to stop the run";
- running, running play, running game
Derived forms: running, run, runs, ran
See also: reach, romp, run off
Type of: accompany, accomplish, action, apply, attempt, barrel [informal], be, become, begin, belt [informal], belt along [informal], break, break up, bring home the bacon [informal], broadcast, bucket [informal], bucket along [informal], capture, carry out, carry through, catch, change, chronological sequence, chronological succession, circularise [Brit], circularize, circulate, come apart, come through, come up trumps [Brit, informal], compete, contend, continue, damage, deliver the goods, diffuse, direct, disintegrate, disperse, displace, disseminate, dissolve, distribute, do, effort, endeavor [US], endeavour [Brit, Cdn], endure, enforce, execute, fall apart, fan out, flow, flowing, football play, free, fulfil [Brit, Cdn], fulfill [N. Amer], get, get down, go, go away, go forth, harm, hasten, hie [archaic], hotfoot, hurry, impairment, implement, incur, indefinite quantity, jaunt, last, leave, liberate, liberty, locomote, locomotion, loose, merchandise, merchandize, move, occur, off [informal], pass, pass around, pelt [informal], pelt along [informal], perform, period, period of time, process, propagate, race, release, resolve, rocket [informal], rush, rush along, sail, score, separate, sequence, set about, set out, speed, split up, spread, spread out, start, start out, step on it [informal], stream, succeed, succession, successiveness, time period, time span, trade, travel, travel rapidly, treat, trip, try, turn up trumps [Brit, informal], unloose, unloosen, vie, watercourse, whizz [informal], whizz along [informal], win, wing [informal], zip [informal], zoom, zoom along [informal]
Antonym: idle
Encyclopedia: Run, Rudolph, Run