runs 1 of 2

present tense third-person singular of run
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2
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as in leads
to be positioned along a certain course or in a certain direction the road runs along the river for a while

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4
as in varies
to occur within a continuous range of variation the electric bill runs between 30 and 50 dollars a month

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as in tends
to show a liking or proneness (for something) unfortunately, members of his family run to fatness

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

8
as in drives
to urge, push, or force onward they ran the horses hard in order to get to the ranch quickly

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9
as in operates
to control the mechanical operation of I know how to run that machine

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10
as in becomes
to eventually have as a state or quality the poor woman ran herself ragged trying to care for all those children

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as in costs
to have a price of that sort of computer runs at least several hundred dollars

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runs

2 of 2

noun

plural of run
as in diarrhea
abnormally frequent intestinal evacuations with more or less fluid stools with weekend guests in the house, it was no time to get the runs

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 runs
Verb
Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group runs both of the Whitney’s two dining outlets. Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Aug. 2026 Liz Eversoll, who runs the skills intelligence company Career Highways, set me straight. Jason Snyder, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2026 Cummins is a former senior vice president at the government contractor Serco, which runs air traffic control towers at 60 American airports. Gabriela Aoun Angueira, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026 In a region where air conditioning runs for months at a time, the savings definitely add up. Quincy Bulin, Southern Living, 7 Aug. 2026 The school is within the Gloucester Township Public Schools district, which runs its own transportation department. Amanda Pitts, ABC News, 7 Aug. 2026 The app’s guidance runs lane by lane, with countdowns to roadworks, speed bumps, and cameras. Manal Albarakati, semafor.com, 7 Aug. 2026 And his batting run value (which measures how many runs a hitter adds or loses for their team) is a whopping (or dismal) -14. Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 31 July 2026 The Quebrada Solar Train began operations in June 2024 and now runs daily. Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 31 July 2026
Noun
Justin Slaten threw wildly to first, and two runs scored on the play, giving the White Sox a 7-5 lead. Lamond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026 Right-hander Tanner Bibee gave up four runs (three earned) over 5 2/3 innings for the Guardians (57-58), including back-to-back homers from Brett Baty and Polanco. Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 6 Aug. 2026 Bibee struck out a season-high 10 over 5 2/3 innings, giving up four runs, three earned. CBS News, 6 Aug. 2026 The races include a 2K beach run, surfskiing, run-swim-runs and an Ironman/Ironwoman course that includes swimming, a surfboard, a surfboat and a beach sprint. Lois K. Solomon, Sun Sentinel, 6 Aug. 2026 The pitcher held Kotzmacher’s team to two runs and hit a double that helped set up the winning run. Dan Zaksheske Outkick, FOXNews.com, 6 Aug. 2026 Both John and Robert Kennedy announced their presidential runs there. Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 6 Aug. 2026 At age 12, Collinson ran his first mile for Running 4 Heroes, a nonprofit that honors, through one-mile runs, first responders and K9s injured or killed in the line of duty, while also providing support through fundraising and community initiatives. Elijah Megginson, AJC.com, 31 July 2026 Lawrence Butler had two hits and scored two runs for the A’s. ABC News, 31 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for runs
Verb
  • Against Senegal, Odegaard casually jogs off the pitch at the near post to drag a player away from the box as Julian Ryerson delivers the corner.
    Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 14 July 2026
  • Orchard Street, which jogs awkwardly around the one-time dump at Gowen Road, in particular needs to change, according to both Ada County Highway District and Boise city reports.
    Mark Dee July 8, Idaho Statesman, 8 July 2026
Verb
  • After desecrating the statue, the vandal returns the hammer to his pocket, scales the fence and flees into the night, the footage shows.
    Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Rhaena flees the four-way dragon scrum on foot only to be dragged back by her uncle.
    Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 3 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Chopping up their parents and teachers has never been so much fun as these kids take command gleefully and with joy as the ice cream man (actor Ari Millen in a dialogue-less performance) leads the band.
    Pete Hammond, Deadline, 3 Aug. 2026
  • More serious and rare than postpartum depression, psychosis leads patients to struggle with their perceptions of reality.
    Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 3 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Adaptive or evolutionary theories hold that the correct amount of sleep varies depending on factors such as season, workload, stress, illness and safety.
    Chas Newkey-Burden, TheWeek, 31 July 2026
  • Reserve transparency varies by issuer, and liquidity between tokens and local currencies remains thin in many markets.
    Alex Odagiu, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
Verb
  • Nasser said current trade flows through the Strait of Hormuz are at a tenth of pre-conflict levels, adding that the world will continue to lose more than 100 million barrels of crude for each week the passage is closed.
    Hanna Ziady, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026
  • What changes when information flows in, validation flows out and nothing meaningfully challenges the assumptions that entered the system in the first place?
    Samuel Rodrigues, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Now almost synonymous, Singer races multiple cars up the hillclimb each year at Goodwood, while showing new models on a stand nearby.
    Michael Teo Van Runkle, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
  • In the 2025 novel, symbologist Robert Langdon races against ancient forces and time to rescue a missing scientist and her groundbreaking manuscript whose discoveries have the power to forever change humanity’s understanding of the mind.
    Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 31 July 2026
Verb
  • Aranda tends to review pitches on the left side of the strike zone (from the pitcher’s point of view), while Caminero mostly scrutinizes pitches along the bottom.
    Abby DiSalvo, The Orlando Sentinel, 7 Aug. 2026
  • What tends to work a little better on average is when the live-action film is produced as more of a hybrid with the techniques that made the director’s name.
    Josh Slater-Williams, IndieWire, 7 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Under the proposal, a commuter who drives on I-90 from Barrington to work downtown and back 50 weeks a year would be charged $950 in 2027, up from $600 this year.
    Marni Pyke, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026
  • That Treasury bond specifically drives the direction of consumer lending rates, such as for mortgages, credit cards and personal loans.
    Steve Kopack, NBC news, 7 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Runs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/runs. Accessed 10 Aug. 2026.

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