run
part of speech
verb (run, runs, ran, run, running); noun (a run, runs)
meaning for a pupil
1) To run is to move fast on your feet. tree →
2) A run is a time of running: a morning run. tree →
3) A run is a point scored in baseball or cricket. tree →
4) To run a business, club or machine is to manage it or make it work: the engine runs. tree →
5) Water or a nose runs when liquid flows. tree →
6) To run out (of) is to have none left. tree →
7) A bus or train runs when it travels on a route. tree →
8) A run is a row of the same thing: a run of good luck. tree →
9) (casual) «Do a run» or «a quick run» is a short trip: «a run to the shops». tree →
10) (casual, rough) «Leg it», «scarper» and «do a runner» mean run away, often without paying; «run along» is a rude way to say go away. tree →
11) (formal) To «operate», «administer» or «conduct» is the stiff word for running a thing: «the service operates every 15 minutes». tree →
12) (euphemism) «Run out of time» and «run its course» can softly mean something ended, even a life. tree →
13) A road, path or line can run from one place to another, stretching all the way to it. tree →
sense in the lessons
In maths: distances or times run, laps; runs scored in a game; «runs out of» means none left; speed = distance ÷ time. In PE: races, laps of the track. In science: water runs downhill; machines run on electricity. In everyday life: «the bus runs every 10 minutes», «my nose is running», «run an errand». In stories: «run for your life!», «in the long run». In casual talk: «a run to the shops», «leg it». In the exam voice: «a distance of 3 miles is covered daily», «the service operates at intervals of». Phrases: «run out», «run away», «run into» (meet by chance), «run late», «on the run».
examples
- She runs 3 miles every day. tree →
- He ran 4 laps of 400 meters. tree →
- The team scored 5 runs in the first inning. tree →
- How far does she run in a week? tree →
- Don't run in the corridor. tree →
- We ran out of milk, so I went to the shop. tree →
- The buses run every 15 minutes. tree →
- Mum runs a small bakery. tree →
- quick run to the shop, need 6 eggs, we got 2 (casual) tree →
- Leg it, the bus is going! (casual, UK) tree →
- We ran out of bloody milk again. (rough) tree →
- A bus service operates at intervals of 15 minutes; determine the number of departures within a period of 2 hours. (formal exam) tree →
- Inside it runs to the fireside. tree →
note
Distances run on several days add up or multiply (miles a day × days). «Runs» in baseball and cricket are points. Trap: «runs out of» means there is none left (amount = 0). Forms: run, ran, run («I have run», not «I have ran»). Spelling: running (double «n»). «Runs every 15 minutes» is a rate: count the trips in the time. «Do a runner» (UK slang) means leave without paying. «Run into someone» means meet them by chance, not crash. Formal «operates» = runs.
In the corpora
- In a democracy the grown-ups choose who runs the country and the town.
- It fixes roads, empties bins, runs parks and libraries, and decides on planning: whether people may build big extensions.
- The council is the local government that looks after roads, parks, bins, libraries and planning, run by elected councillors.
- Vivid example: in Brisbane, little Jayden runs in: "Mum!
- Chatbots run on giant computers in data centres; the words appearing one by one is just how the answer is shown.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «run» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.