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

The county’s emergency manager said debris removal operations stalled in early May when the county ran out of money while awaiting federal assistance. —Sophie Bates, Chicago Tribune, 23 May 2025

The blanks — flat, metal discs that the Mint turns into coins — will run out in early 2026, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news. —Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 22 May 2025

Left-hander Garrett Crochet dueled Tylor Megill until the big right-hander ran out of gas in the fifth inning. —Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 22 May 2025

The clock ran out, and fans rushed the field to celebrate the win. —David Ubben, New York Times, 22 May 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