run out

verb

Definition of run out

intransitive verb

1a : 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

1a : 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

2a : 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

run out of

: to use up the available supply of ran out of time

run out on

Examples of run out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And the 2800 block is close enough to Hamilton Elementary/Middle School so that a 9-year-old girl could run out her front door 10 minutes before the first bell rings and make it to class on time. — Mary Carole Mccauley, baltimoresun.com, "Anne Tyler's latest novel evokes Hamilton. Here are possible real-life stand-ins for locations in 'Clock Dance'," 13 July 2018 Four More Minutes Rakitic and Kyle Walker do some shoving, but Walker quickly realizes that the clock is running out on England. — Rory Smith, New York Times, "Croatia Digs Deeper, Burying England’s World Cup Dreams," 12 July 2018 With multiple manufacturers offering alternatives, the city let the exemption for plastic utensils and straws run out over the weekend. — NBC News, "Seattle plastic straw ban goes into effect in effort to reduce marine pollution," 2 July 2018 With multiple manufacturers offering alternatives, the city let the exemption for plastic utensils and straws run out over the weekend. — CBS News, "Seattle becomes first U.S. city to ban plastic utensils and straws," 2 July 2018 As far back as 2001, it was projected that 407 and 321 numbers would run out by the end of 2003. — Marco Santana, OrlandoSentinel.com, "689 area code could be added to Central Florida," 29 June 2018 The diver, a volunteer identified as Saman Gunan, 38, ran out of air while placing spare air tanks along the route to the cavern where the boys are trapped. — New York Times, "8 Saved, 5 to Go in Thai Cave Rescue," 9 July 2018 Uruguay’s wait – since 1950 – is even longer, while the Belgians and Croats are running out of time to capitalize on their respective golden generations. — Martin Rogers, USA TODAY, "With champion Germany out, who's the World Cup 'favorite' now?," 27 June 2018 Oregon State and Arkansas both earned top-five national seeds and lost just once on their way through the NCAA tournament, recovering quickly to advance through the bracket as the postseason’s most surprising teams eventually ran out of magic. — Eric Single, SI.com, "College World Series Finals Preview: Breaking Down Oregon State vs. Arkansas," 24 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'run out.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Learn More about run out

Dictionary Entries near run out

run one's own life

run-on sentence

run on the bank

run out of patience

Statistics for run out

Last Updated

18 Oct 2018

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for run out

The first known use of run out was in the 14th century

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