running down

verb

present participle of run down
1
as in finding
to come upon after searching, study, or effort finally ran down the answer after hours of research

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dismissing
to express scornfully one's low opinion of constantly running down the city's cultural life won't do anything to improve it

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of running down For decades, El Capitan has kicked off the high school football season with the Vaquero Run, with players running down Maine Avenue in Lakeside. — John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Aug. 2026 Ace also has video of him running down the speedy Deshonne Redeaux last season to prevent a touchdown against Oaks Christian. — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2026 Fittingly, the style comes in three colorways including Zebra Soapstone, a tan take on the trendy animal print, and Gilded Umber, a rich, chocolate brown adorned with gold-tone grommets running down each outer seam. — Kelsey Legg, ABC News, 6 Aug. 2026 Two white stripes running down the sides of each leg create a casual look that’s effortlessly chic and pairs well with just about any shoes in your suitcase. — Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 5 Aug. 2026 For four years now, Metro light rail trains have been running down the center of Crenshaw Boulevard, and for just as long, residents say a major promise has been broken. — Lauren Pozen, CBS News, 1 Aug. 2026 Not Bone, But Nerve That something is the ulnar nerve, one of the three major nerves running down the arm. — Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026 According to documents from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, 44-year-old David Crosby II was running down a hallway where a group of three kids was playing tag on the Carnival Glory on July 26. — Nathan Diller, USA Today, 31 July 2026 The denim pants were paired with a coordinated top in the same colorway and material, featuring silver buttons running down the front placket. — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 29 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for running down
  1. finding
  2. dismissing
  3. learning
  4. minimizing
  5. discovering
  6. talking down
  7. locating
  8. diminishing
Verb
  • The Mexican navy searched a vast area of the Pacific Ocean by sea and air, eventually finding the two men floating in a large fishing cooler about 150 miles off the coast of Chiapas, a southern state in Mexico that borders Guatemala.
    — Diego Mendoza, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Officers reported allegedly finding live ammunition hidden in a sock in her dresser, a digital scale, more than 100 plastic baggies, text messages appearing to show drug sales, and $4,121 in cash.
    — Julie Watts August 20, CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of finding
Verb
  • In the filing, the Justice Department urged the appeals court to reverse the Tennessee federal judge’s ruling dismissing criminal charges against Abrego Garcia.
    — Siladitya Ray, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
  • The book resuscitates the childhood feeling that most of us spend our lives tamping down and dismissing, if not completely extinguishing.
    — Chris Ware, The New York Review of Books, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of dismissing
Verb
  • Many of the experiences are suitable for older children, from riding to learning how to look after sheep for the day, accompanied by a local shepherd.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Aug. 2026
  • But for educators, there is a growing consensus that AI literacy is about more than learning how to use generative AI and write good prompts.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of learning
Verb
  • That’s no problem for them, because the failures occur years after the discussions, minimizing the political risk to those who voted for these misguided plans.
    — Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Patagonia, for example, has long organized itself around a commitment to minimizing its impact on the planet.
    — Kristin Stoller, Fortune, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of minimizing
Verb
  • That coordination gives everyone time to confirm eligibility on the new stock, model the holding-period math and put the election deadline on the calendar rather than discovering it after the fact.
    — Sharon Olson, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
  • The greater risk is losing access to one difficult-to-replace material and discovering that an entire factory, grid project or defense program cannot proceed without it.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of discovering
Verb
  • The Malheur standoff also drew in the FBI’s elite Hostage Rescue Team, which Northern California sheriffs credited for talking down the Henrichsens and ending last month’s kidnapping without bloodshed.
    — Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 9 Aug. 2026
  • In a daring high-wire act high above the East River, fearless NYPD cops spent nearly an hour on a span of the iconic Brooklyn Bridge talking down a woman desperately threatening to jump.
    — Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 9 July 2026
Definition of talking down
Verb
  • The next day, the Brazos County Sheriff’s Office posted on its Facebook page asking for help locating Nikki.
    — Francie Ebert, NBC news, 19 Aug. 2026
  • The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation initially contacted Roswell police and asked for assistance locating and apprehending Spruill.
    — Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of locating
Verb
  • In the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, France's initial mediating role gave way to a pro-Armenia stance, alienating Baku and diminishing its leverage with Yerevan, which now increasingly favors the US.
    — Kamran Bokhari, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
  • During Anahulu Ho Emi, the third and final phase, the focus is diminishing, surrendering and reflecting.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of diminishing

Browse Nearby Words

running dogs
running down
running hand
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Cite this Entry

“Running down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/running%20down. Accessed 24 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on running down

Nglish: Translation of running down for Spanish Speakers

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