Base verb

Phrasal verbs with run

The verb run combines with 17 particles to form everyday phrasal verbs. Each particle steers the meaning in its own direction — here they are with clear definitions and examples, so you can see the whole family at once.

17 phrasal verbs · 25 meanings

run about

1 sense
  • Move busily in many directions
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run across

1 sense
  • Encounter someone or something unexpectedly
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run after

1 sense
  • Chase someone by running
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run along

1 sense
  • Used to tell a child or someone to leave (often dismissively)
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run around

1 sense
  • Go to many places quickly to do tasks
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run away

2 senses
  • Escape by running
  • Avoid dealing with a problem or responsibility
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run back

1 sense
  • Return quickly on foot
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run behind

1 sense
  • Be later than scheduled
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run by

1 sense
  • Move past on foot at speed
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run down

1 sense
  • Criticise someone or something
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run off

1 sense
  • Leave running, often abruptly
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run on

1 sense
  • Continue without stopping, often longer than expected
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run out

4 senses
  • Use up the supply of something
  • (of a contract, lease or document) reach the end of its valid period
  • Run out of a building or room
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run over

3 senses
  • Hit and drive over a person or animal with a vehicle
  • Quickly review something
  • Continue beyond the planned end time
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run through

3 senses
  • Quickly review or rehearse something
  • Pierce a person with a sword or sharp weapon
  • Be a constant theme or feature in something
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run under

1 sense
  • Spend less than the planned amount
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run up

1 sense
  • Accumulate a debt, bill or score quickly
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Practice the run family in Sink In

Sink In drills every sense of run with spaced repetition — recognition, particle cloze, and meaning recall — so the whole family sticks instead of blurring together.