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

After rallying from an 18-point deficit to tie the game with 7 minutes left on the clock, Texas basketball ran out of gas down the stretch in a 91-80 Georgia win Saturday in Athens, Georgia. —Thomas Jones, Austin American Statesman, 21 Feb. 2026

The large cluster of skaters behind them held back, hoping the two leaders would run out of gas and drift back into the pack before the final sprint. —Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2026

Then, about four to five billion years later, our Sun will run out of hydrogen fuel in its core, evolving into a red giant. —Big Think, 20 Feb. 2026

The situation escalated on February 9, when Cuban aviation officials announced the nation was running out of jet fuel. —Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Feb. 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