📒 to move using your legs, going faster than when you walk
- Can you run as fast as Mike?
- They turned and ran when they saw us coming.
- She came running to meet us.
📒 to travel a particular distance by running
- Who was the first person to run a mile in under four minutes?
- I ran four miles today.
📒 to run as a sport
- She used to run when she was at college.
- I often go running before work.
- Try to run round the block a few times every morning.
📒 to take part in a race
- run in something He will be running in the 100 metres tonight.
- There are only five horses running in the first race.
- run something to run a marathon
📒 to make a race take place
- The Derby will be run in spite of the bad weather.
📒 to hurry from one place to another
- I've spent the whole day running around after the kids.
📒 to be in charge of a business, campaign, etc.
- to run a hotel/store/language school
- He has no idea how to run a business.
- Stop trying to run my life (= organize it) for me.
📒 to make a service, course of study, etc. available to people
- The college runs summer courses for foreign students.
- The programme will be jointly run with NASA in the US.
- The college runs several English classes for adults.
📒 to travel on a particular route
- Buses to Oxford run every half hour.
- + adv./prep. All the trains are running late (= are leaving later than planned).
- Trains between London and Brighton run throughout the day.
📒 to make buses, trains, etc. travel on a particular route
- run something + adv./prep. They run extra trains during the rush hour.
- The transport company is concerned about the cost of running more buses.
📒 to operate or function; to make something do this
- Stan had the chainsaw running.
- run on something Our van runs on (= uses) diesel.
- run something Could you run the engine for a moment?
📒 when a computer program or system runs or somebody runs it, it operates
- You may find that some apps are running slowly.
- There are too many programs running on your computer.
- You need to have antivirus software running on your PC.
📒 if a recording on a tape runs or somebody runs it, it plays
- He didn't know the tape was still running.
- run something Run the tape, please.
- run something + adv./prep. Can you run the tape back a few minutes?
📒 to own and use a vehicle or machine
- I can't afford to run a car on my salary.
📒 to drive somebody to a place in a car
- Shall I run you home?
- Would you mind running me to the shops?
📒 to move, especially quickly, in a particular direction
- The car ran off the road into a ditch.
- A shiver ran down my spine.
- The sledge ran smoothly over the frozen snow.
📒 to move something in a particular direction
- She ran her fingers nervously through her hair.
- I ran my eyes over the page.
📒 to lead or stretch from one place to another; to make something do this
- + adv./prep. He had a scar running down his left cheek.
- The road runs parallel to the river.
- The railway line runs right past the house.
📒 to flow
- The tears ran down her cheeks.
- Water was running all over the bathroom floor.
📒 to make liquid flow
- run something (into something) She ran hot water into the bucket.
- to run the hot tap (= to turn it so that water flows from it)
- run something for somebody I'll run a bath for you.
📒 to send out a liquid
- Who left the tap running?
- Your nose is running (= mucus is flowing from it).
- The smoke makes my eyes run.
📒 to be covered with a liquid
- His face was running with sweat.
- The bathroom floor was running with water.
📒 if the colour runs in a piece of clothing, etc. when it gets wet, the colour comes out of the material and spreads into other pieces of clothing, etc. in the same water
- The colour ran and made all my underwear pink.
📒 to melt
📒 to become different in a particular way, especially a bad way
- The river ran dry (= stopped flowing) during the drought.
- Supplies are running low.
- We understand that feelings are running high on this issue
📒 to be at or near a particular level
- Inflation was running at 26 per cent.
📒 to continue for a particular period of time without stopping
- run for something Her last musical ran for six months on Broadway.
- run from A to B The course runs from June 25th to August 27th.
- This debate will run and run!
📒 to operate or be legally acceptable for a particular period of time
- The permit runs for three months.
- The lease on my house only has a year left to run.
📒 to happen or progress at the time or in the way mentioned
- + adv./prep. Programmes are running a few minutes behind schedule this evening.
- Everything is running according to plan.
- Her life had always run smoothly before.
📒 to be a candidate in an election for a political position, especially in the US
- Obama ran a second time in 2012.
- run for somebody/something Hilary Clinton ran for president in 2016.
- He ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in New York.
📒 to bring or take something into a country illegally and secretly
- run something + adv./prep. He used to run guns across the border.
- She made money by running drugs.
📒 to have particular words, contents, etc.
- Their argument ran something like this…
- + speech ‘Ten shot dead by gunmen,’ ran the newspaper headline.
📒 to print and publish an item or a story
- On advice from their lawyers they decided not to run the story.
📒 to do a test, an experiment, etc.
- run something on something The doctors decided to run some more tests on the blood samples.
- run something The two experiments are run in parallel.
- The company is running clinical trials of the new drug.
📒 if tights or stockings run, a long thin hole appears in them
📒 to be pleased to do what somebody wants
- She knew she had only to call and he would come running.
📒 to run in order to escape from somebody/something
📒 to treat somebody badly and not worry about their feelings
📒 working fully and correctly
- It will be a lot easier when we have the database up and running.
- We soon had the sound system up and running.