- 1[countable] an act of running; a period of time spent running or the distance that someone runs I go for a run every morning. a five-mile run Catching sight of her, he broke into a run (= started running). I decided to make a run for it (= to escape by running). She took the stairs at a run.
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trip - 2[countable] a trip by car, plane, boat, etc., especially a short one or one that is made regularly They took the car out for a run. This ferry operates on the Seattle-Bremerton run.
- 3[countable] a period of something good or bad happening; a series of successes or failures synonym spell a run of good/bad luck Our team finally lost, ending an unbeaten run of 18 games. of play/movie
- 4[countable] a series of performances of a play or movie The show had a record-breaking run on Broadway. of product
- 5[countable] the amount of a product that a company decides to make at one time The first print run of 6,000 copies sold out. money
- 6[countable, usually singular] run on the dollar, etc. a situation when many people sell dollars, etc. and the value of the money falls
- 7[countable, usually singular] run on a bank a situation when many people suddenly want to take their money out of a bank
- 8[countable, usually singular] run on something a situation when many people suddenly want to buy something a run on the band's latest CD way things happen
- 9[singular] the run of something the way things usually happen; the way things seem to be happening on a particular occasion In the normal run of things the only exercise he gets is climbing in and out of taxis. in sports
- 10[countable] a sloping track used in skiing and some other sports a ski/toboggan, etc. run
- 11[countable] a point scored in the game of baseball or cricket Our team won by four runs. see home run More Aboutbaseball
- There are nine players on a baseball team. One team is at bat and the other team fields. The pitcher stands on the pitcher's mound and pitches (= throws) the ball to a batter from the other team, who stands next to home plate. The catcher stands behind home plate and catches and returns balls that were not batted to the pitcher.
- The batter tries to score runs (= points) by hitting the ball and running around the four bases, which are at each corner of a 90-foot square called the diamond. The batter can stop at any of the bases and then run on to the next base when the next batter hits the ball. If a batter hits the ball so far forward that it goes out of the field, this is a home run, and the batter is allowed to touch all four bases and automatically gains a point for himself or herself as well as any batter who was standing on a base.
- If the batter tries to hit the ball but misses it, this is called a strike. After three strikes, the batter is out and the next batter comes to bat. The expressions three strikes and you're out and the three strikes rule comes from baseball, and is used to describe a law that says that people who commit three crimes will automatically go to prison.
- If the batter hits the ball behind or anywhere outside first or third base, this is a foul ball and counts as a strike, unless the batter is already on two strikes. If the ball is pitched outside a certain area (= the strike zone) above home plate and the batter does not try to hit it, this is called a ball. If the batter gets four balls, they automatically get to go to first base.
- A batter can also be out if one of the fielders catches the ball after the batter has hit it and it has not touched the ground; if a fielder picks up or catches the ball and steps on one of the bases as the batter is running toward it; or if a fielder tags (= touches) a batter with the ball as the batter is running between bases.
- When the team in the field has had three outs (= gotten three batters out), the teams switch places and the team in the field is now up (= has a turn at bat). One turn of batting for each team is called an inning. One game usually consists of nine innings, at the end of which the team with the most runs is the winner.
in election - 12[singular] an act of trying to get elected to public office He made an unsuccessful run for governor in 2008.
- 13[countable] (often in compounds) an area surrounded by a fence or wire, in which animals or birds are kept as pets or on a farm a chicken run in music
- 14[countable] a series of notes sung or played quickly up or down the scale in card games
- 15[countable] a series of cards held by one player in pantyhose/stockings
- 16[countable] a long thin hole in pantyhose or stockings where some threads have broken illness
- 17the runs [plural] (informal) = diarrhea see dry run, trial run
- 1trying to avoid being captured He's on the run from the police.
- 2(informal) continuously active and moving around I've been on the run all day and I'm exhausted. Here are some quick recipes for when you're eating on the run (= in a hurry).
on foot
the average type of something He was very different from the general run of movie stars.
to make someone try very hard, using all their skill and effort, in order to beat you in a game or competition
to give somebody/get/have permission to make full use of something Her dogs have the run of the house.
concerning a longer period in the future This measure inevitably means higher taxes in the long run.
concerning the immediate future In the short run, unemployment may fall.
Check pronunciation: run