The word “run” is one of the most important and complex words in the English language. It has at least 645 meanings or senses, many of them part of idioms or idiomatic phrasal verbs. Run isn’t only used to describe physical movements. It also helps to describe many other activities as well as the operation of machines, organizations, and more. It’s no surprise, then, that you will find the word run as part of many English idioms and phrasal verbs. Here are the meanings of 30 0f the most common phrasal verbs and idioms that use the word run, in English.
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Cut and Run: to depart suddenly or quickly to avoid an awkward or dangerous situation; to run away as quickly as possible.
Eat and Run: to eat a meal or a snack quickly and then immediately leave.
End Run (to do an): to maneuver around an obstacle or authority in order to accomplish a certain goal. This idiom means much the same as to go over someone’s head.
Hit the Ground Running: to start a new activity immediately and energetically with speed and enthusiasm; to be able to begin an activity effectively right from the beginning, with no need for preparation or adjustment; to be able to seize an opportunity with vigor.
Make One’s Blood Run Cold: when something makes your blood run cold it fills you with great fear or horror.
Run a Bath: to fill a bathtub with enough water for bathing. To run a bath, one uses the taps, or bathtub faucet. Another way to say ‘run a bath’ is ‘draw a bath.’
Run Across (Someone): to meet or find someone by chance when not expecting to.
Run Across (Something): to cross something, such as a road, by running; to find something incidentally without actually looking for it.
Run After: to chase or pursue something or someone; to try to overtake something or someone; to seek the company or approval of someone you are attracted to; to do things for someone constantly in a servile way; to do anything in a persistent way.
Run Against: to encounter something, usually a difficulty. Often expressed as “run up against;” to work against; to oppose; to oppose as a candidate for elective office.
Run Along: to leave, go away. Sometimes used as a condescending imperative (e.g. “Run along now, mommy has to finish her work.”)
Run an Errand: to take a short trip (usually in a car) to buy something or complete some other simple task; to carry out an errand.
Run Around: to be very busy doing lots of different things; going lots of different places running errands and performing tasks, often in a rush; to run aimlessly, often in play; to run in a circle along the perimeter or outside of something (run around only); to be unfaithful to a lover or spouse; to see other people outside of a relationship.
Run Away: to secretly leave a place, such as one’s home, not intending to return; to flee or escape. Also run off; to secretly leave home to get married or, in other words, to elope or to have a romantic or sexual relationship. Also, to run off, i.e. ‘run off together.’ Also, run off (with someone, together, etc.); to avoid acknowledging or dealing with something such as an unpleasant situation, a difficult problem, or one’s responsibilities.
Run Away (With Something): to take away something quickly and secretly; to steal something and escape with it hastily. Also, run off with; to easily surpass others in some situation, especially a competition, and win by a large margin; if one’s feelings, imagination, thoughts, etc. “run away with them,” they fail to control them and thus may be led to do something foolish.
Run Back: to return to someplace, such as home or work, briefly for some specific purpose. Also, to run something back, meaning to return an item to a place or person quickly; to return to an earlier point in an audio or video recording and play a certain part again (separable, e.g. ‘run the recording back’ or ‘run back the recording.’); (To Run Someone Back) To take someone back to some location, especially by car (separable, e.g. run someone back).
Run By: to run alongside or near someone or something; to run, walk, or drive near something or to see, encounter, or discover something while running; to go to someplace and stop at a place for a short period of time.
Run Down: to hit someone with one’s car and knock them over, especially intentionally or due to reckless driving. (Separable); to criticize severely and unfairly often ‘behind someone’s back; if a machine or battery runs down, it slowly stops working due to a lack of power. When a clock runs down, it stops working because it needs to be wound (separable); to quickly examine a list or set of items. — See more meanings
Run For It: to run from somewhere to escape captivity, or to escape danger or consequences, usually suddenly, without a plan, or before an opportunity ends; to run in order to reach somewhere quickly before it is too late, such as a bus stop.
Run In: to stop at some location and go inside only for a brief time, usually to run a quick errand such as make a purchase or drop off something; to take someone to some location on a short trip, usually by car; to arrest someone and take them to jail. — See more meanings
Run Interference: to help someone accomplish something by dealing with potential problems so as to eliminate encumbrances or distractions; to intervene in order to help another person.
Run Into: to meet someone or find them unexpectedly, by chance. I.E. to run into someone; to encounter something, such as a difficulty or incur, usually expenses or debt. See also run against (first definition); collide with something. — See more meanings
Run Into a Brick Wall: to encounter a barrier to progress that cannot be surmounted; to be stopped in one’s efforts by something.
Run Into the Ground: to run something into the ground is to manage it so badly that it is ruined and fails; to ruin or destroy something, usually a business or organization; to excessively and continually discuss a topic until it all aspects of it are thoroughly exhausted; When an effort, plan, or activity runs into the ground, it fails. (British and Australian)
Run Its Course: when something has run its course, it has reached an endpoint or a natural conclusion without outside interference or help.
Run Low (to be running low): to be near the end of one’s supply of something; to have used most of something so that there is very little left.
Run Something By Me Again: when we say to someone “run (something) by me again” it means that we would like them to remind us or refresh our memory regarding something; to tell someone something again; to repeat something one has said.
Run Something By Someone: to tell someone something, such as a plan or idea, especially in order to get their opinion.
Run the Gamut: to extend over an entire range; to experience, display, or perform the complete range of something; to include everything of a group or type.
Run the Gauntlet: to experience severe danger, criticism, difficulties, blame, abuse, etc. for a period of time; also, to have to move past a line of people trying to get your attention such as the press, admirers, fans, protestors, etc.
