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

On Friday evening, funding for large swaths of the government will run out. —Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 25 Jan. 2026

Milwaukee answered with a 3-ball to stay alive, but Kyle Kuzma missed a potential game-winner from midcourt as time ran out. —Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 24 Jan. 2026

Powell has fueled the Heat to this stage of the season for a franchise that otherwise would have run out of gas due to the scoring inconsistency elsewhere on the roster. —Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 24 Jan. 2026

An employee ran out and filmed the getaway cars to capture license plates, Tabello said. —Ryanne Mena, Oc Register, 24 Jan. 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