ran across

phrase

past tense of run across
1
as in found
to come upon unexpectedly or by chance She ran across an old friend at lunch.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in encountered
to come upon face-to-face or as if face-to-face They ran across a bear while camping in the woods.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ran across
  1. ran into
  2. bumped into
Phrase
  • On his way to reaching his first tour-level final in eight years, Damir Džumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina ran into it during his quarterfinal against Italy’s French Open semifinalist Matteo Arnaldi.
    — James Hansen, New York Times, 20 July 2026
  • Argentina, the reigning world champions and heavy favorite, needed extra time to beat the upstarts in their first World Cup, but not before Cape Verde’s Sidny Lopes Cabral scored an incredible extra-time goal and ran into the crowd to celebrate.
    — Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 20 July 2026
Definition of ran into
Phrase
  • A couple of weeks passed before Tabitha Mugweru bumped into Wanjiru and Purity on the road.
    — Kazeem Olawale Nasiru, NPR, 17 July 2026
  • Two men who were with Salgado Araujo disputed the government’s account, saying the agents’ vehicles bumped into them and then swayed into the van, forcing them to stop.
    — Julianna Bragg, CNN Money, 15 July 2026
Definition of bumped into
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

ran
ran across
ran after
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Cite this Entry

“Ran across.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ran%20across. Accessed 24 Jul. 2026.

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