Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Run

Run (run) , intransitive verb

[Old English rinnen, rennen (imp. ran, p. p. runnen, ronnen). Anglo-Saxon rinnan to flow (imp. ran, p. p. gerunnen), and iernan, irnan, to run (imp. orn, arn, earn, p. p. urnen); akin to Dutch runnen, rennen, Old Saxon & Old High German rinnan, German rinnen, rennen, Icelandic renna, rinna, Swedish rinna, ranna, Danish rinde, rende, Gothic rinnan, and perh. to Latin oriri to rise, Greek 'orny`nai to stir up, rouse, Sanskrit r (compare Origin), or perh. to Latin rivus brook (compare Rival). r11. Compare Ember, a., Rennet.]

1.
To move, proceed, advance, pass, go, come, etc., swiftly, smoothly, or with quick action; -- said of things animate or inanimate. Hence, to flow, glide, or roll onward, as a stream, a snake, a wagon, etc.; to move by quicker action than in walking, as a person, a horse, a dog.
2.
(a) To go swiftly; to pass at a swift pace; to hasten.
“Ha, ha, the fox!” and after him they ran. — Chaucer
(b)
To flee, as from fear or danger.
As from a bear a man would run for life. — Shakespeare
(c)
To steal off; to depart secretly.
(d)
To contend in a race; hence, to enter into a contest; to become a candidate; as, to run for Congress.
Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. — 1 Cor. ix. 24
(e)
To pass from one state or condition to another; to come into a certain condition; -- often with in or into; as, to run into evil practices; to run in debt.
Have I not cause to rave and beat my breast, to rend my heart with grief and run distracted? — Addison
(f)
To exert continuous activity; to proceed; as, to run through life; to run in a circle.
(g)
To pass or go quickly in thought or conversation; as, to run from one subject to another.
Virgil, in his first Georgic, has run into a set of precepts foreign to his subject. — Addison
(h)
To discuss; to continue to think or speak about something; -- with on.
(i)
To make numerous drafts or demands for payment, as upon a bank; -- with on.
(j)
To creep, as serpents.
3.
(a) To flow, as a liquid; to ascend or descend; to course; as, rivers run to the sea; sap runs up in the spring; her blood ran cold.
(b)
To proceed along a surface; to extend; to spread.
The fire ran along upon the ground. — Ex. ix. 23
(c)
To become fluid; to melt; to fuse.
As wax dissolves, as ice begins to run. — Addison
Sussex iron ores run freely in the fire. — Woodward
(d)
To turn, as a wheel; to revolve on an axis or pivot; as, a wheel runs swiftly round.
(e)
To travel; to make progress; to be moved by mechanical means; to go; as, the steamboat runs regularly to Albany; the train runs to Chicago.
(f)
To extend; to reach; as, the road runs from Philadelphia to New York; the memory of man runneth not to the contrary.
She saw with joy the line immortal run, Each sire impressed, and glaring in his son. — Pope
(g)
To go back and forth from place to place; to ply; as, the stage runs between the hotel and the station.
(h)
To make progress; to proceed; to pass.
As fast as our time runs, we should be very glad in most part of our lives that it ran much faster. — Addison
(i)
To continue in operation; to be kept in action or motion; as, this engine runs night and day; the mill runs six days in the week.
When we desire anything, our minds run wholly on the good circumstances of it; when it is obtained, our minds run wholly on the bad ones. — Swift
(j)
To have a course or direction; as, a line runs east and west.
Where the generally allowed practice runs counter to it. — Locke
Little is the wisdom, where the flight So runs against all reason. — Shakespeare
(k)
To be in form thus, as a combination of words.
The king's ordinary style runneth, “Our sovereign lord the king.” — Bp. Sanderson
(l)
To be popularly known; to be generally received.
Men gave them their own names, by which they run a great while in Rome. — Sir W. Temple
Neither was he ignorant what report ran of himself. — Knolles
(m)
To have growth or development; as, boys and girls run up rapidly.
If the richness of the ground cause turnips to run to leaves. — Mortimer
(n)
To tend, as to an effect or consequence; to incline.
A man's nature runs either to herbs or weeds. — Bacon
Temperate climates run into moderate governments. — Swift
(o)
To spread and blend together; to unite; as, colors run in washing.
In the middle of a rainbow the colors are... distinguished, but near the borders they run into one another. — I. Watts
(p)
To have a legal course; to be attached; to continue in force, effect, or operation; to follow; to go in company; as, certain covenants run with the land.
Customs run only upon our goods imported or exported, and that but once for all; whereas interest runs as well upon our ships as goods, and must be yearly paid. — Sir J. Child
(q)
(Nautical) To continue without falling due; to hold good; as, a note has thirty days to run.
(r)
(Nautical) To discharge pus or other matter; as, an ulcer runs.
(s)
(Nautical) To be played on the stage a number of successive days or nights; as, the piece ran for six months.
(t)
(Nautical) To sail before the wind, in distinction from reaching or sailing closehauled; -- said of vessels.
4.
Specifically, of a horse: To move rapidly in a gait in which each leg acts in turn as a propeller and a supporter, and in which for an instant all the limbs are gathered in the air under the body. — Stillman (The Horse in Motion)
5.
(Athletics) To move rapidly by springing steps so that there is an instant in each step when neither foot touches the ground; -- so distinguished from walking in athletic competition.
And had her stock been less, no doubt She must have long ago run out. — Dryden
But these, having been untrimmed for many years, had run up into great bushes, or rather dwarf trees. — Sir W. Scott

Run ({not transcribed}) , transitive verb

1.
To cause to run (in the various senses of Run, v. i.); as, to run a horse; to run a stage; to run a machine; to run a rope through a block.
2.
To pursue in thought; to carry in contemplation.
To run the world back to its first original. — South
I would gladly understand the formation of a soul, and run it up to its “punctum saliens.” — Collier
3.
To cause to enter; to thrust; as, to run a sword into or through the body; to run a nail into the foot.
You run your head into the lion's mouth. — Sir W. Scott
Having run his fingers through his hair. — Dickens
4.
To drive or force; to cause, or permit, to be driven.
They ran the ship aground. — Acts xxvii. 41
A talkative person runs himself upon great inconveniences by blabbing out his own or other's secrets. — Ray
Others, accustomed to retired speculations, run natural philosophy into metaphysical notions. — Locke
5.
To fuse; to shape; to mold; to cast; as, to run bullets, and the like.
The purest gold must be run and washed. — Felton
6.
To cause to be drawn; to mark out; to indicate; to determine; as, to run a line.
7.
To cause to pass, or evade, official restrictions; to smuggle; -- said of contraband or dutiable goods.
Heavy impositions... are a strong temptation of running goods. — Swift
8.
To go through or accomplish by running; as, to run a race; to run a certain career.
9.
To cause to stand as a candidate for office; to support for office; as, to run some one for Congress. [Colloquial United States]
10.
To encounter or incur, as a danger or risk; as, to run the risk of losing one's life. See To run the chances, below.
He runneth two dangers. — Bacon
If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure. — Dan Quail
11.
To put at hazard; to venture; to risk.
He would himself be in the Highlands to receive them, and run his fortune with them. — Clarendon
12.
To discharge; to emit; to give forth copiously; to be bathed with; as, the pipe or faucet runs hot water.
At the base of Pompey's statua, Which all the while ran blood, great Caesar fell. — Shakespeare
13.
To be charged with, or to contain much of, while flowing; as, the rivers ran blood.
14.
To conduct; to manage; to carry on; as, to run a factory or a hotel. [Colloquial United States]
15.
To tease with sarcasms and ridicule. [Colloquial]
16.
To sew, as a seam, by passing the needle through material in a continuous line, generally taking a series of stitches on the needle at the same time.
17.
To migrate or move in schools; -- said of fish; esp., to ascend a river in order to spawn.
18.
(Golf) To strike (the ball) in such a way as to cause it to run along the ground, as when approaching a hole.
Collocations (10)
To run a blockade , to get to, or away from, a blockaded port in safety.
To run down (Hunting) , (a) (Hunting) To chase till the object pursued is captured or exhausted; as, to run down a stag. (b) (Naut.) To run against and sink, as a vessel. (c) To crush; to overthrow; to overbear Religion is run down by the license of these times. — Berkeley (d) To disparage; to traduce. — F. W. Newman
To run hard , (a) To press in competition; as, to run one hard in a race. (b) To urge or press importunately (c) To banter severely.
To run into the ground , to carry to an absurd extreme; to overdo. [Slang, United States]
To run off , to cause to flow away, as a charge of molten metal from a furnace.
To run on (Printing) , to carry on or continue, as the type for a new sentence, without making a break or commencing a new paragraph.
To run out (Baseball) , (a) To thrust or push out; to extend. (b) To waste; to exhaust; as, to run out an estate.
To run the chances or To run one's chances , to encounter all the risks of a certain course.
To run through , to transfix; to pierce, as with a sword. [He] was run through the body by the man who had asked his advice. — Addison
To run up , (a) To thrust up, as anything long and slender. (b) To increase; to enlarge by additions, as an account (c) To erect hastily, as a building

Run , noun

1.
The act of running; as, a long run; a good run; a quick run; to go on the run.
2.
A small stream; a brook; a creek.
3.
That which runs or flows in the course of a certain operation, or during a certain time; as, a run of must in wine making; the first run of sap in a maple orchard.
4.
A course; a series; that which continues in a certain course or series; as, a run of good or bad luck.
They who made their arrangements in the first run of misadventure... put a seal on their calamities. — Burke
5.
State of being current; currency; popularity.
It is impossible for detached papers to have a general run, or long continuance, if not diversified with humor. — Addison
6.
Continued repetition on the stage; -- said of a play; as, to have a run of a hundred successive nights.
A canting, mawkish play... had an immense run. — Macaulay
7.
A continuing urgent demand; especially, a pressure on a bank or treasury for payment of its notes.
8.
A range or extent of ground for feeding stock; as, a sheep run. — Howitt
9.
(a) (Nautical) The aftermost part of a vessel's hull where it narrows toward the stern, under the quarter.
(b)
(Nautical) The distance sailed by a ship; as, a good run; a run of fifty miles.
(c)
(Nautical) A voyage; as, a run to China.
10.
A pleasure excursion; a trip. [Colloquial]
I think of giving her a run in London. — Dickens
11.
(Mining) The horizontal distance to which a drift may be carried, either by license of the proprietor of a mine or by the nature of the formation; also, the direction which a vein of ore or other substance takes.
12.
(Music) A roulade, or series of running tones.
13.
(Military) The greatest degree of swiftness in marching. It is executed upon the same principles as the double-quick, but with greater speed.
14.
The act of migrating, or ascending a river to spawn; -- said of fish; also, an assemblage or school of fishes which migrate, or ascend a river for the purpose of spawning.
15.
(Sport) In baseball, a complete circuit of the bases made by a player, which enables him to score one point; also, the point thus scored; in cricket, a passing from one wicket to the other, by which one point is scored; as, a player made three runs; the side went out with two hundred runs; the Yankees scored three runs in the seventh inning.
The “runs” are made from wicket to wicket, the batsmen interchanging ends at each run. — R. A. Proctor
16.
A pair or set of millstones.
17.
(Piquet, Cribbage, etc.) A number of cards of the same suit in sequence; as, a run of four in hearts.
18.
(a) (Golf) The movement communicated to a golf ball by running.
(b)
(Golf) The distance a ball travels after touching the ground from a stroke.
[Man] starts the inferior of the brute animals, but he surpasses them in the long run. — J. H. Newman
I saw nothing else that is superior to the common run of parks. — Walpole
Burns never dreamed of looking down on others as beneath him, merely because he was conscious of his own vast superiority to the common run of men. — Prof. Wilson
His whole appearance was something out of the common run. — W. Irving

Run , adjective

1.
Melted, or made from molten material; cast in a mold; as, run butter; run iron or lead.
2.
Smuggled; as, run goods. [Colloquial] — Miss Edgeworth
Collocations (1)
Run steel , malleable iron castings. See under Malleable. — Raymond