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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Examples of run off in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Roni Jacobson, New York Daily News, 24 July 2024
By now, she’s probably run off somewhere, and is never coming back.
—Mieko Kawakami, The New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2024
Les Carpenter, Washington Post, 30 July 2024
Routine monitoring in the months leading up to the games similarly showed that levels of E. coli — an indicator of fecal matter — regularly spiked to unsafe levels, particularly after rainstorms sent runoff from Paris streets into the river and raised the odds that sewage would enter the water.
—Evan Bush, NBC News, 30 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for run off 
Verb
After the attackers ran off, Yanan was recorded retrieving the items from her purse, which were strewn across the sidewalk.
—Roni Jacobson, New York Daily News, 24 July 2024
By now, she’s probably run off somewhere, and is never coming back.
—Mieko Kawakami, The New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2024
Noun
While French officials say the project has had success, one of the biggest challenges has been Paris’s antiquated sewer system, which carries not only wastewater but also street runoff after rainstorms.
—Les Carpenter, Washington Post, 30 July 2024
Routine monitoring in the months leading up to the games similarly showed that levels of E. coli — an indicator of fecal matter — regularly spiked to unsafe levels, particularly after rainstorms sent runoff from Paris streets into the river and raised the odds that sewage would enter the water.
—Evan Bush, NBC News, 30 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for run off
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'run off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Thesaurus Entries Near run off
Cite this Entry
“Run off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/run%20off. Accessed 11 Sep. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share