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

Time ran out on one roach in a reach-in freezer. —David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025

Students and others ran out in panic as gray smoke filled the mosque. —NPR, 7 Nov. 2025

For the patents on some of Novo Nordisk’s hero products in certain regions to be running out is an inevitable headache—companies can only hold them for so long before competitors are able to launch their own products. —Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 6 Nov. 2025

While Josephine ran out to buy a cake for Milo’s birthday, Peter arrived with a duffel bag of cash in exchange for the boy’s safe return. —Jp Mangalindan, Time, 6 Nov. 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