RUN


Meaning of RUN in English

I. ˈrən verb

( ran ˈran, ˈraa(ə)n ; or nonstandard run ; run ; running ; runs )

Etymology: Middle English runnen, ronnen; in intransitive senses, alteration of rinnen, irnen, partly from Old English rinnan, iernan, partly from Old Norse rinna; akin to Old Saxon, Old High German, & Gothic rinnan to run; in transitive senses, alteration of rennen, ernen, partly from Old English ærnan, partly from Old Norse renna; akin to Old Saxon rennian to cause to run, Old High German rennen to cause to run, Gothic ur rannjan to cause to rise; causatives from the root of Old English rinnan, iernan; akin to Old English rīsan to rise — more at rise

intransitive verb

1.

a. : to go by moving the legs quickly : go faster than a walk ; specifically : to go steadily by springing steps so that both feet leave the ground for an instant in each step

b. of a horse : to move at a fast gallop as distinguished from a canter : move with each leg acting in turn as a propeller and supporter and all four legs being for an instant in the air under the body

c. : flee , retreat , escape

afraid to fight but ashamed to run

dropped his gun and ran

obliged to cut and run

d. : to make a bid in a card game in an effort to escape the consequences of a previous bid

refrained from doubling four spades for fear he would run to five clubs

— sometimes used with out

2.

a. : to go without restraint : move freely about at will

let his chickens run loose

liked to run barefoot in the summer

b. : to keep company : consort — used with with chiefly of male animals

a ram running with his ewes

c. : to sail before the wind in distinction from reaching or sailing close-hauled

d. : roam , rove , gad — usually used with about or around

spends his time running around nights and sleeping all day

caught cold running about with no overcoat

e. : to deviate from a correct path — used of a saw cut

3.

a. : to go rapidly or hurriedly : hasten

run and fetch the doctor

b. : to go in urgency or distress : resort

runs to his mother at every little difficulty

don't come running to me when you get in trouble

c. : to make a quick, easy, or casual trip or visit

running up to town every week or so

just ran over to borrow some sugar

4.

a. : to contend in a race

will be able to run tomorrow

also : to finish a race in a specified place

ran a poor third

b. : to enter into an election contest : become a candidate

I do not choose to run — Calvin Coolidge

5.

a. : to move on or as if on wheels : glide

the hoist runs on an overhead track

file drawers running on ball bearings

the tractor runs on an endless chain tread

b.

(1) : to roll forward rapidly or freely

the cue ball ran straight into the side pocket

(2) of a golf ball : to bound or roll along after touching the ground subsequent to the carry

ran some 10 yards onto the green

c. : to pass or slide freely along

rope runs through the pulley

d. : to ravel lengthwise owing to a dropped or broken stitch

stockings guaranteed not to run

6. : to sing or play a musical passage quickly

run up the scale

7.

a. : to go back and forth : ply

a ferry runs to the island each hour

b. of fish : to migrate or move in schools ; especially : to ascend a river to spawn

8.

a. : turn , rotate

a swiftly running grindstone

let the motor run until it warms up

b. : function , operate , work

an engine that runs on kerosine or gasoline

things are running smoothly at the office now

expense of keeping the old car running

9.

a. : to continue in force or operation : remain effective

the contract has two more years to run

six months on each charge, the sentences to run concurrently

b. : to accompany as a valid obligation or right

covenants the rights and liabilities of which pass to assignees run with the land

c. : to continue to accrue or become payable in an amount increasing with the passing of time

interest on the loan runs from last July 1st

10. : to pass from one state to another

run into trouble

run into debt

11.

a. : to flow rapidly

a brook running high with meltwater

or under pressure

someone left the hot water running

feelings were running high on both sides of the dispute

tide running out

b. : to change to a liquid state : melt , fuse

heat a pipe joint until the solder runs

the icing had begun to run

c. : to spread out, diffuse, or dissolve

colors guaranteed not to fade or run

the writing was blurred where the ink had run on the wet pages

d. : to discharge pus or serum

a running sore

e. dialect : curdle

f. of soil : to become fluid or pasty when wet

12.

a. : to develop rapidly in some specific direction ; especially : to throw out an elongated and often vining shoot of growth

the early squashes are beginning to run and flower

b. : to tend to produce or develop a specified quality or feature — usually used with to

they run to big noses in that family

this tree runs to quite tart fruit

13.

a. : to lie in or take a certain direction

the boundary line runs east from the stone

his action runs counter to prevailing practice

the printed matter on this page runs the short way of the page

a red thread runs through the cloth

b. : to lie or extend in relation to something

where the road runs close to the shore

a path runs along the ridge

the fence runs along two sides of the field

heating pipes ran overhead

c. : to go back : reach

a custom since the time that no man's mind runs to the contrary

born of a line running back to King Alfred

d. : to be in a certain form or expression

his letter runs as follows

or order of succession

the house numbers in this block run in odd numbers from 3 to 57

14.

a. : to occur intermittently and persistently : recur — usually used with through or in

a note of despair runs through the whole narrative

musical talent seems to run in his family

tune kept running in his head

thoughts and memories of home kept running through his mind

b. : to continue to be of a specified size or character or quality

peaches are running unusually large this year

profits were running high

c. : to continue at a certain rate or value

this ore runs as high as $200 to the ton

d. : to exist or occur in a continuous range of variation

guesses at his real age run from 39 to 45 or higher

e. : to play on a stage a number of successive days or nights

the piece ran for six months

15.

a. : to spread or pass quickly from point to point

chills ran up his spine

a whisper ran through the crowd

a shout ran down the line of soldiers

fire ran swiftly over the oily sea

b. : to be current : spread abroad : pass from mouth to mouth

the story runs that they have been secretly married for months

speculation ran rife on who the candidate would be

transitive verb

1.

a. : to cause (an animal) to go at speed : ride or drive fast

b. : to bring to a specified condition by or as if by running

he almost ran himself to death

fie, now you run this humor out of breath — Shakespeare

c. : to go in pursuit of : hunt , chase

run a deer

the dog was caught running sheep and had to be shot

d. : to follow the trail of backwards : trace

ran the rumor to its source

e. : to enter, register, or enroll as a contestant in a race

ran the filly in the half mile

f. : to put forward as a candidate for office

ran him for governor

2.

a. : to drive (livestock) especially to a grazing place

run cattle to pasture

b. : to provide pasturage for (livestock)

land that will run three sheep to the acre

c. : to keep or maintain (livestock) on or as if on pasturage

run a few head of stock

run 2,000,000 chickens a year

d. : to put (a male animal) with females for breeding

flush the ram before running him with the ewes

3.

a. : to pass over, traverse, or cover by or as if by running

quick at fielding and running bases

the disease has run its course

her acting ran the whole range of emotions

b. : to accomplish or perform by or as if by running

ran a great race

running errands for a bank

c. : to flee from

ran the country after the robbery

d. : to slip through or past

run a blockade

run a guard

run a traffic signal

4.

a. : to cause to slip into or through : thrust

ran the spear through his body

ran a splinter into his toe

ran his hand into his pocket

b. : stitch ; especially : to sew with running stitches

run a basting to mark the waistline

run a line of stitching

c. : to cause to pass : lead

run a rope through a pulley

run a wire in from the antenna

d. : to cause to collide

ran his head into a post

e. : smuggle

5. : to cause to pass lightly or quickly over, along, or into something

ran his eye down the list

ran his fingers along the shelf

run your hand over the tabletop to see if the varnish is dry

ran his tongue over his parched lips

6.

a. : to cause or allow (as a vehicle, a vessel) to go in a specified manner or direction

ran the ship aground on a sandbar

ran his car off the road

b. : operate

run a lawn mower

run a taxi

c. : to carry on : manage , conduct

run a factory

run a travel bureau

the men who run things in this city

7.

a. : to be full of or drenched with : flow with

the streets ran blood

all the brooks ran gold — A.E.Housman

b. : contain , assay

tailing runs 2 percent zinc

8.

a. : to cause to move or flow in a specified way or into a specified position

run sheets through a wringer

run cards into a file

b. : fan 7b

9.

a. : to melt and cast in a mold

run bullets

b. : to make (a resin) soluble in oil by subjecting to thermal processing

c. : treat , process , refine

run oil in a still

d. : to pour into the cracks and joints of a pavement

run tar

or into a form

run concrete

e. : to apply (as paint) by flowing

run a wash

also : to cover (a surface) by flowing on

run a wall

f. : to form (a molding) with plaster

g. : to pass (starch slurry) down a run

10. : to make oneself liable to : expose oneself to : incur

ran the risk of discovery by lighting a fire

11. : to mark out : cause to be drawn

run a contour line in surveying land

run a line through the word to be deleted

12. : to permit (as charges, accounts, bills) to accumulate before settling

run an account at the grocery

13.

a. : to run off

a book to be run on lightweight paper

a job to be run 4-up

b. : to carry in a printed medium : print

every newspaper ran the story

run this advertisement for 3 days

c. : to use as a direct printing surface

you may stereotype these woodcuts but do not run them

14.

a. : to make (a series of counts) without a miss

run 19 in an inning in billiards

b. card games : to lead winning cards of (a suit) successively and usually until no more remain

15. : to make (a golf ball) roll foward after alighting

ran his ball past the cup

16. croquet : to play one's ball through (a wicket) or against (a stake)

Synonyms:

race , course , career : run is the general term in this set, indicating either a rapid or more-or-less normal movement or motion

a halfback running laterally

busses running on Elm Street

the watch had stopped running

race almost always indicates great speed or rapidity, often in or as though in urgent situations with freedom from normal inhibitions

he raced for a small dune and flung himself down behind it — Irwin Shaw

thoughts were under control no longer: they raced desperately — as she had once seen a dog race … running desperately and hopelessly from inescapable terror — Margery Sharp

course in this sense may indicate rapid or pulsating motion or activity, often following a definite or expected course or channel

reconnaissance aircraft coursed North Korea — New York Times

her hand became a closer prisoner. All at once an alarming delicious shudder went through her frame. From him to her it coursed — George Meredith

new life coursing through Europe's stagnant economic system — R.A.Billington

career is likely to indicate high speed with headlong impetus or, occas., with veering or rocking motion

careering through the salons on a bicycle — Time

blind historians careering on their juggernauts of theory — Times Literary Supplement

intoxicated cats careering through out houses — F.A.Swinnerton

- run across

- run after

- run against

- run at check

- run a temperature

- run cunning

- run division

- run down the latitude

- run false

- run foul of

- run free

- run heelway

- run in the blood

- run into

- run in with

- run mad

- run ragged

- run rings around

- run riot

- run scared

- run short

- run short of

- run the cards

- run to cover

- run to earth

- run to seed

- run track

- run upon

- run wild

II. noun

( -s )

Etymology: Middle English rune, from runnen, ronnen to run — more at run I

1.

a. : an act or the action of running : continued and usually rapid movement

walked faster and faster finally breaking into a run

let the dogs out for a run

police arrived on the run

b. : a quickened gallop

c.

(1) : the act of migrating or ascending a river to spawn — used of fish

(2) : an assemblage or school of fishes that migrate or ascend a river to spawn

d. : a running race

a mile run

— distinguished from dash

e.

(1) : a score made in cricket each time the batsmen safely change ends after a hit or when the ball is in play — compare boundary , extra

(2) : a score made in baseball by a runner reaching home plate safely after touching the three bases in order — compare home run

f. : strength or ability to run

the first two laps took most of the run out of him

2.

a. chiefly Midland : creek 2

b. : a swift tidal current

c. : a pronounced swell or markedly choppy condition of the surface of the water

there was a run of sea in the harbor — John Masefield

d. : something that flows in the course of a certain operation or during a certain time

a run of must in wine making

the first run of sap in sugar maple

— compare forerun

3.

a. : the afterpart of the underwater body of a ship from where it begins to curve or slope upward and inward to the stern — compare entrance 7; see ship illustration

b. : the direction in which a vein of ore lies

c. : a direction of secondary or minor cleavage : grain

run of a mass of granite

— compare rift 4

d. : an irregular body of ore having an approximately horizontal direction

e. : the horizontal distance to which a mine drift is or may be carried

f.

(1) : the length of the base of a right triangle

(2) : the horizontal distance measured from the face of one riser to that of the next

(3) : the horizontal distance covered by a flight of steps

(4) : the horizontal distance from the wall plate to the center line of a building

the rise of a rafter per foot of run

(5) : extent measured linearly

the bridge carries a load of 500 pounds per foot run

g. : the distance irrigation water must flow from the supply ditch to the end of the field or to the lower level

h. : general tendency or direction

kept in touch with the general run of the stock market

4. : a continuous series especially of things of identical or similar sort

a run of poor poker hands

as

a. : a rapid scale passage in vocal or instrumental music

b. dancing : a number of rapid, small, elastic steps executed in even tempo

c. : the act of making successively a number of successful shots or strokes ; also : the score thus made

run of 15 balls in pool

a run of 20 in billiards

d. : an unbroken course of being repeated (as of a play on the stage)

e.

(1) : a set of consecutive measurements, readings, or observations

(2) mathematics : a maximal subsequence of elements of like kind in any ordered sequence of elements of two kinds

f. : a train of cars in a mine

g. : persistent and heavy demands from depositors, creditors, or customers

a run on a bank

a run on limited stocks of goods in a store

h. : a heavy demand for a printing sort not ordinarily needed in quantity

i. : sequence 2b

j. : a stereotyped passage of narrative or description introduced into Gaelic popular tales

5. : the quantity of work turned out in a continuous operation: as

a. : the paper made in a continuous operation (as to fill a given order or part of an order)

b. : a single distillation of a given amount of material

c. : pipeline run

d. : the quantity of lumber cut from a log

e. : a numbering unit for woolen yarns based on the number of 1,600-yard hanks to a pound

a two- run yarn has 3,200 yards to a pound

6. : the usual or normal kind, character, type, or group

the general run of modern fiction

average run of college graduates

his whole appearance was … out of the common run — Washington Irving

7.

a. : a caving in of a mine working

b. : a fall of a cage in a mine shaft

c. : deviation of a tool from a correct path

8.

a. : the distance covered in a period of continuous traveling or sailing

betting on the day's run of the ship

b. : a course or route mapped out and traveled with regularity

the run of the “Twentieth Century Limited” between New York and Chicago

c. : a single or essentially continuous journey : trip

a ship on her regular run to Europe

a 10,000 mile test run for gasoline mileage

d. : bomb run

e. : a news reporter's regular territory : beat

covering the labor run

f. : the distance a golf ball travels after touching the ground from a stroke

g. : freedom of movement in or access to a place or area

has the run of the whole neighborhood

has the run of his friend's house including the kitchen

9.

a. : the period during which a machine or plant is in continuous operation ; specifically : the period in the manufacture of water gas during which steam is admitted at the end of the blow and the gas is produced — compare back run

b. : a test or proof of a process, a material (as ore), or a machine

a laboratory run

10.

a. : a way, track, or path frequented by animals

a rabbit run

a beaver run

poisoning rat runs

b. : an enclosure for livestock where they may feed and exercise — often used in combination

fowl run

hog run

c. Australia : a large area of land used for grazing

sheep run

: ranch , station

run -holder

d. : the bower of a bowerbird

e. : an inclined passage between levels in a mine

f. : an inclined plane for a passageway (as in a theater) : ramp

g. : the clear space not less than 15 feet in length and immediately back of the foul line from which a bowler delivers his ball

11.

a. : an inclined course for coasting, skiing, or bobsledding

b. : a support (as a track, pipe, trough) on which something runs

sash run in a window frame

overhead run for a traveling hoist

c. : a settling trough for slimes used in working ore

d. : a long slightly inclined table used in washing starch free from gluten, fiber, and other impurities

12.

a. : a ravel in a knitted fabric (as in hosiery) caused by the breaking or dropping of one or more stitches

b. : a paint defect occurring at the time of application caused by excessive flow

13. : a pair of millstones

14. : the distance between two degrees or assigned points on an arc or curved scale (as of a surveying instrument) ; also : the value of a division of the scale in seconds of arc

15. runs plural but singular or plural in construction : diarrhea — not often in polite use

- by the run

- in the long run

III. adjective

Etymology: from past participle of run (I)

1.

a. : melted

run butter

run honey

b. : made from molten material : cast in a mold

run metal

run joint

2. : smuggled

run diamonds

3. Scotland

a. : thorough , outright

b. : continuous , running

4. of fish : having made a migration or spawning run

a fresh run salmon

5. : exhausted or winded from running

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.