1
as in to out
to drive or force out
the dog often ran off cats and other animals that had intruded upon his owner's property
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to escape
to get free from a dangerous or confining situation
their rebellious daughter's run off because she was disciplined again
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to retreat
to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening
the mouse ran off as soon as it saw us
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in fresh
Related Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of runoff
Kevin Fixler
september 20, Idaho Statesman, 20 Sep. 2025
Urban streams accumulate the waste of cities—runoff of pesticides, herbicides, oil, and whatever else.
—Literary Hub, 19 Sep. 2025
Jordan Neal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Sep. 2025
The alien then turns and runs off into the jungle, as Hermit looks at his sister with an incredulous expression.
—Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for runoff
Verb
The mine would restrict access to its tribal members, on top of creating heightened risks of mine runoff entering into the headwaters and decreasing dwindling fish populations, according to the lawsuit.
—Kevin Fixler
september 20, Idaho Statesman, 20 Sep. 2025
Urban streams accumulate the waste of cities—runoff of pesticides, herbicides, oil, and whatever else.
—Literary Hub, 19 Sep. 2025
Noun
North Forney took advantage, driving down the field with big runs before giving the ball to running back Andikan Asuquo, who ran off tackle nine yards untouched for a touchdown.
—Jordan Neal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Sep. 2025
The alien then turns and runs off into the jungle, as Hermit looks at his sister with an incredulous expression.
—Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for runoff
Recent Examples of Synonyms for runoff
Verb
-
The burger diner chain, on social media, outed itself as being behind a billboard in Nashville, Tennessee, calling for the ouster of Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino.—
Cheryl V. Jackson,
IndyStar,
23 Sep. 2025
-
One day later, Hailey was seen with her husband Justin Bieber on a lowkey family outing with their 13-month-old son, Jack Blues.—
Rachel Raposas,
PEOPLE,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Previously, the story followed Zagreus, the painfully cool son of Hades who spent his days making a break for the surface world to escape the overbearing grip of his father.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
27 Sep. 2025
-
Despite sustaining some minor injuries — Ethan sustained several cuts, scrapes and bruises while Brandon sustained a small burn on his forehead and scarring on his hands — the pair escaped relatively unscathed, physically.—
Abigail Adams,
PEOPLE,
27 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Mike Bailey delivered a superkick to Dax Harwood, and Kevin Knight hit Cash Wheeler with a dropkick, sending FTR and Stokely retreating and ending the chaotic confrontation.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Sep. 2025
-
When the sun sets, retreat to the hot tub.—
Erika Owen,
Architectural Digest,
23 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The Vikings could aim to keep Jones fresh for the second half of the season and the playoffs by giving more touches to Mason over the first couple of months.—
Matthew Schmidt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Sep. 2025
-
The show is, of course, trading in familiar stereotypes for all its real-life characters, but there is something about its bespoke combination of the retro and the fresh.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The driver of the car, whom authorities have not identified, was ejected and found near the car, fire rescue says.—
Milena Malaver,
Miami Herald,
23 Sep. 2025
-
The passenger in the GMC, Aaron Deandre Radford, 31, of Indianapolis was ejected during the crash.—
Noe Padilla,
IndyStar,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Routh allegedly fled the scene but was later arrested by a local sheriff's office on a nearby interstate.—
Peter Charalambous,
ABC News,
23 Sep. 2025
-
The suspects fled the scene in multiple vehicles.—
Jim Harrington,
Mercury News,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Also, there is no Santa, but Alexia’s gay Jonny is there to trash-talk Todd once more before flying home to Spain.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
26 Sep. 2025
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The weapon can also fly more than 45 miles to strike mobile targets, reducing the amount of time that aircrews spend in harm’s way.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Two and a half feet of rain beat down upon the face of the San Gabriels, wiping out the rustic resorts wedged into the canyons, and chuting runoff waters down onto the plain along ancient dry rivulets and freshets and canyons that Angelenos had forgotten or never known about.—
Patt MorrisonColumnist,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Feb. 2023
-
The Hudson River had a little current, fed by freshets from upstream with local rains, and melting snow farther up, in the Adirondacks.—
Ian Frazier,
The New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Runoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/runoff. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.
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