run out

verb

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ran out; run out; running out; runs out

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

: desert

Examples of run out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Eventually, the phytoplankton began to run out of nutrients, causing the cells of some species to exude a sticky substance. — Jenna Scatena, The Atlantic, 18 Dec. 2021 Southwest Ohio's 513 area code is expected to run out of available phone numbers by late 2023, so a new area code will be added to the mix. — Emily Deletter, The Enquirer, 16 Dec. 2021 As the world continues to run out of burial space, a new option for memorializing loved ones presents itself: NFT designers are developing metaverse cemeteries. — Samantha Hissong, Rolling Stone, 11 Dec. 2021 The numbers may sound good, applicants said, but with 185 cannabis dispensary licenses held up for more than a year and now in a court fight, more minorities are going to run out of money and will have to sell their licenses. — Robert Mccoppin, chicagotribune.com, 7 Dec. 2021 The Cornerstone Pharmacy on John F. Kennedy Boulevard in North Little Rock has run out of at-home kits, according to its answering machine. — Tess Vrbin, Arkansas Online, 2 Jan. 2022 Two good wharves run out into the bay, at which vessels of the largest draught may lay and discharge and receive their freights. — San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Jan. 2022 The Texas state health department has run out of a key treatment to fight the omicron COVID-19 variant, which now makes up 90% of the virus cases in Texas. — Celina Tebor, USA TODAY, 29 Dec. 2021 The vaccine incentive was run out of Eastern Shore Toyota in Daphne, near Interstate 10. — al, 29 Dec. 2021

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.