n.1 a person who runs, esp. in a race.
2 a a creeping plant-stem that can take root. b a twining plant.
3 a rod or groove or blade on which a thing slides.
4 a sliding ring on a rod etc.
5 a messenger, scout, collector, or agent for a bank etc.; a tout.
6 hist. a police officer.
7 a running bird.
8 a a smuggler. b blockade-runner.
9 a revolving millstone.
10 Naut. a rope in a single block with one end round a tackle-block and the other having a hook.
11 (in full runner bean) Brit. a twining bean plant, Phaseolus multiflorus, with red flowers and long green seed pods. Also called scarlet runner.
12 each of the long pieces on the underside of a sledge etc. that forms the contact in sliding.
13 a roller for moving a heavy article.
14 a long narrow ornamental cloth or rug.
Phrases and idioms:
do a runner sl. leave hastily; flee. runner-up (pl. runners-up or runner-ups) the competitor or team taking second place.