run out

verb

ran out; run out; running out; runs out

intransitive verb

1

a

: to come to an end : expire

time ran out

b

: to become exhausted or used up

the gasoline ran out

2

: to jut out

transitive verb

1

a

: to finish out (a course, a series, a contest, etc.) : complete

b

of a baseball batter : to run hard to first base after hitting (a batted ball)

ran out the grounder

2

a

: to fill out (a typeset line) with quads, leaders, or ornaments

b

: to set (a line of text, such as the first line of a paragraph) with a hanging indention

3

: to exhaust (oneself) in running

4

: to cause to leave by force or coercion : expel

see also:

run out of run out on

Examples of run out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Geneva’s comeback attempt in Friday’s nonconference game against Oswego at Burgess Field literally ran out of time. — Jerry Birchfield, Chicago Tribune, 29 Aug. 2026

Congress has about six years to shore up the Social Security trust fund, which is expected to run out of reserves by the end of 2032. — Ashley Lopez, NPR, 28 Aug. 2026

According to police reports, two witnesses saw a man matching his description running out of the Syracuse music building the night of the attack. — Joaquin Sapien, ProPublica, 28 Aug. 2026

Carroll’s defense gave up a first down, but then forced four consecutive incompletions to take the ball back and run out the clock. — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Rhymes for run out

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout

Kids Definition

run out

verb

1

: to come to an end : expire

time ran out before we could tie the game

2

: to become exhausted or used up

our supplies were running out