1
as in to out
to drive or force out
the dog often ran off cats and other animals that had intruded upon his owner's property
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to escape
to get free from a dangerous or confining situation
their rebellious daughter's run off because she was disciplined again
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to retreat
to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening
the mouse ran off as soon as it saw us
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in fresh
Related Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of run off
Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025
After losing their opener to the Orlando Magic, the Heat have run off victories against the Memphis Grizzlies, New York Knicks, and, most recently, the Charlotte Hornets.
—Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2025
Chad De Guzman, Time, 21 Oct. 2025
In addition to reducing water runoff, standing plants act as natural snow fences.
—Benjamin Vogt, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for run off
Verb
The coyote then chased after the child until the child's father noticed and started yelling until the coyote ran off.
—Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025
After losing their opener to the Orlando Magic, the Heat have run off victories against the Memphis Grizzlies, New York Knicks, and, most recently, the Charlotte Hornets.
—Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2025
Noun
In the upper chamber, Takaichi fell one seat short of a majority in a first-round vote but ultimately won in a runoff against Noda.
—Chad De Guzman, Time, 21 Oct. 2025
In addition to reducing water runoff, standing plants act as natural snow fences.
—Benjamin Vogt, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for run off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for run off
Verb
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Syracuse has also lost the last two meetings between these programs, failing to score more than seven points in either outing (in 2023 and 2020).—
Ben Verbrugge,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
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Carly was outed as the niece of Hanks in the premiere by fellow contestant Hugo after her ties to fame were hinted at with a park bench — from Hanks' iconic movie Forrest Gump — earlier in the show.—
Sarah Jones,
PEOPLE,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Epstein story is all about people who are sufficiently rich or entitled escaping the full consequences of their actions, something that is still happening here.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
25 Oct. 2025
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Seven years after disappearing from his California home in 1972, 14-year-old Steven Stayner escaped his kidnapper, Kenneth Parnell, and returned to his family in 1980.—
James Mercadante,
PEOPLE,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In the example below from their 2-1 win over Girona, Barcelona man-mark the opposition midfielders but Fermin Lopez’s passive positioning allows a pass into retreating centre-forward Portu.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
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Teddy demands that Michelle take him and Don to her Andromedan leader in the hope of forcing the invaders to retreat.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam for $249 ($48 off): A green tea infusion in this affordable mattress keeps the foam fresh.—
Simon Hill,
Wired News,
8 Oct. 2025
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In addition to pollen, the purifier captures dust, pet dander, and unwanted odors to keep your home extra fresh (which is especially handy in the colder months when the windows stay closed).—
Clara McMahon,
PEOPLE,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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For example, a rock just 11 pounds (5 kilograms) in mass can gouge a crater more than 30 feet (9 meters) wide and eject over 75 metric tons of lunar soil and rock, according to NASA.—
Daisy Dobrijevic,
Space.com,
4 Nov. 2025
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In recent years, Beijing has sought to solidify its presence inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), including ejecting Filipino fishermen.—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Three were sprawling refugee camps near el-Fasher that have emptied as RSF troops advanced, with most people fleeing into el-Fasher or nearby towns.—
NPR,
NPR,
3 Nov. 2025
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The film, written by Barbosa alongside Werner Salles, is set in 1695 and sees a family of slaves organize a rebellion to flee in search of the utopian Quilombo dos Palmares following a call from the spiritual helm.—
Rafa Sales Ross,
Variety,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Palace’s super-strength is low crosses provided by flying wing-backs, when they can be released, running into space on the edge of the box.—
Liam Tharme,
New York Times,
31 Oct. 2025
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The fabrics utilize the same aerodynamic principles as a golf ball, whose dimpled surface causes a ball to fly further by using turbulence to reduce drag.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Two and a half feet of rain beat down upon the face of the San Gabriels, wiping out the rustic resorts wedged into the canyons, and chuting runoff waters down onto the plain along ancient dry rivulets and freshets and canyons that Angelenos had forgotten or never known about.—
Patt MorrisonColumnist,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Feb. 2023
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The Hudson River had a little current, fed by freshets from upstream with local rains, and melting snow farther up, in the Adirondacks.—
Ian Frazier,
The New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Run off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/run%20off. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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