Run Down (Verb)
Meaning 1
Deplete; "exhaust one's savings"; "We quickly played out our strength".
Classification
Verbs of buying, selling, owning.
Examples
- After years of struggling to find a job, Jack had run down all his savings and was now on the verge of bankruptcy.
- During the dry spell, the farmers had to run down their supplies and rely on donations from nearby towns.
- The lack of rainfall had caused the town to run down its water reserves, making every drop precious.
- If they don't get any new clients soon, they will have run down their finances and be forced to close.
- After the financial crisis, many businesses were forced to run down their assets just to stay afloat.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Meaning 2
Move downward; "The water ran down".
Classification
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming.
Examples
- Rainwater ran down the windowpane and dripped onto the ground.
- The waitress ran the towel down the bar to wipe up the spills.
- Her long hair ran down her back like a cascade of silk.
- As the sun began to set the colors of the sky ran down into the horizon.
- The tears ran down her face as she watched the sad movie.
Hypernyms
Meaning 3
Injure or kill by knocking (someone or something) down and passing over the body, as with a vehicle.
Classification
Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care.
Examples
- The driver lost control of the vehicle and accidentally run down the pedestrian who was crossing the street.
- She was run down by a speeding car while riding her bike to school.
- A drunk driver was arrested for intentionally trying to run down the officer who was directing traffic.
- Witnesses described how the driver accelerated to run down the victim in a fit of rage.
- Cyclists are most vulnerable to being run down by cars, especially at night when visibility is low.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Meaning 4
Trace; "We are running down a few tips".
Classification
Verbs of political and social activities and events.
Examples
- The police are running down a list of potential suspects in the area where the crime occurred.
- Investigations are running down several leads in an attempt to solve the high-profile case.
- Detectives are running down the last few witnesses who claimed to have seen the getaway car.
- Law enforcement officials are running down information that suggests the fugitive may be hiding abroad.
- The task force is running down new evidence that could connect the missing person to a local crime ring.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Meaning 5
Examine hastily; "She scanned the newspaper headlines while waiting for the taxi".
Classification
Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling.
Examples
- The editor had to run down the article quickly to make sure it was free of errors before publishing.
- She was extremely busy, but managed to run down her emails and respond to the urgent ones.
- To save time, the researcher decided to run down the information from a previous study.
- I'll quickly run down the list of items to make sure everything is accounted for.
- The detective agreed to run down the case files with the new evidence in mind.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Meaning 6
Pursue until captured; "They ran down the fugitive".
Classification
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming.
Examples
- The police successfully ran down the suspect after a lengthy chase through the city.
- A diligent investigator helped the team run down a lead on the cold case from years ago.
- The officer was able to run down the speeding driver and issue a ticket for reckless behavior.
- Detectives worked together to run down the key witness and obtain their testimony.
- After days of tracking, the detectives finally ran down the escaped convict in a nearby town.
Hypernyms
Meaning 7
Use up all one's strength and energy and stop working; "At the end of the march, I pooped out".
Classification
Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care.
Examples
- The old engine finally run down and stopped working after years of use.
- The runner had to run down from exhaustion and stopped mid-race.
- The heater had been on all day and was about to run down.
- The batteries have run down from being used non-stop all day.
- She managed to run down her opponents with an impressive display of stamina and endurance.