Meaning of Idiom ‘Run Down’ (Phrasal Verb)
Meaning 1: To hit someone with one’s car and knock them over, especially intentionally or due to reckless driving. (Separable)
Examples Of Use
“He ran someone down with his car during the riot and now sits in jail.”
“He tried to run me down with his car. He’s crazy!”
Meaning 2: To criticize severely and unfairly often ‘behind someone’s back.
Examples Of Use
“I’m tired of you running me down!”
“He’s been running you down to anyone who will listen.”
“You’re being too hard on yourself. You’re always running yourself down but you need to give yourself some credit.”
Meaning 3: 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).
Examples Of Use
“I left the lights on and ran the battery down in my car.”
“We had a blackout and I discovered that the batteries in the flashlight had run down.”
Meaning 4: To quickly examine a list or set of items.
Examples Of Use
“I should have run down the grocery list and checked everything before I left the store. I forgot to buy a few things and now I have to go back.”
“Let’s just run down the list one more time before we get started.”
“The pilot ran down the pre-flight checklist.”
Meaning 5: To gradually cease a business, organization, or operations activities.
Examples Of Use
“As the owners aged, the store gradually ran down its business.”
“NASA space operations are being run down while commercial space flights are on the rise.”
Meaning 6: To gradually use up a supply of something until there is none left.
Examples Of Use
“We can’t put the new milk out until we run down out stock of the old milk.”
“Our supply of food has run down. If we don’t find something to eat we may not make it through the winter.”
Meaning 7: To find someone or something after a long search, especially after a chase or pursuit.
Examples Of Use
“The police ran the suspect down in an alley on the outskirts of town.”
“The dogs finally ran the fox down at Macfield’s fence but the fox slipped through the fence and got away.”
Rundown or run-down is also used as a noun and adjective.
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