1. [informal] An angry dispute
   "they had a run-in";
   - quarrel, wrangle, row[2], words, dustup [informal], blue [Austral, NZ, informal], dust-up, bust-up [informal], barney [Brit, informal], slanging match [Brit, informal], ding-dong [Brit, informal]
    
2. The straight stretch of a racetrack leading to the finish line
   "The horse surged ahead in the run-in";
   - homestretch, home straight, home stretch
    
3. [Brit] The approach to an event
   "In the run-in to the election, the candidates intensified their campaigns"

Derived forms: run-ins

Type of: conflict, difference, difference of opinion, dispute, stretch

Encyclopedia: Run-in