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

Phrases

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

After a two-hour wait, Wanda Bright had finally reached the front of the line — just as the first batch of supplies ran out. —Jenny Abamu, NPR, 24 Oct. 2025

Food pantries across Indiana are running out of food and limiting hours, Lynch said. —Marissa Meador, IndyStar, 24 Oct. 2025

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is at risk of running out of funding if the ongoing government shutdown continues into November. —Melina Khan, USA Today, 24 Oct. 2025

Wisconsin's FoodShare program will run out of federal funding by the end of October if the shutdown continues. —Sarah Volpenhein, jsonline.com, 24 Oct. 2025

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