1
: a football play in which the ballcarrier attempts to run wide around the end of the line
specifically
: sweep sense 3e
2
: an evasive trick or maneuver
made an end run around the regulations
end-ran; end-running; end-runs
: to avoid artfully
end-running the law
Examples of end run in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Peter Elkind, ProPublica, 30 Dec. 2025
Many data brokers in turn sell the information to federal agencies, including ICE and other parts of the DHS, offering an all-too-easy end run around restrictions on those agencies’ domestic spying.
—Andy Greenberg, Wired News, 4 Dec. 2025
The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 4 Feb. 2026
This end-run around Homeland Security Secretary Noem is critical, as the two shooting deaths of U.S. citizens took place under her watch.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for end run
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Noun
With the aid of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency team, Trump appears to be attempting an end run that could succeed where his past attempts failed: by simply terminating the consulting contract that the Department of Energy relies on to develop and enforce the rules.
—Peter Elkind, ProPublica, 30 Dec. 2025
Many data brokers in turn sell the information to federal agencies, including ICE and other parts of the DHS, offering an all-too-easy end run around restrictions on those agencies’ domestic spying.
—Andy Greenberg, Wired News, 4 Dec. 2025
Verb
And thanks to Chuy Garcia’s end-run on democracy, progressive Chicago Ald.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 4 Feb. 2026
This end-run around Homeland Security Secretary Noem is critical, as the two shooting deaths of U.S. citizens took place under her watch.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for end run
Cite this Entry
“End run.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/end%20run. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.
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