run out

verb

ran out; run out; running out; runs out

intransitive verb

1

a

: to come to an end : expire

time ran out

b

: to become exhausted or used up

the gasoline ran out

2

: to jut out

transitive verb

1

a

: to finish out (a course, a series, a contest, etc.) : complete

b

of a baseball batter : to run hard to first base after hitting (a batted ball)

ran out the grounder

2

a

: to fill out (a typeset line) with quads, leaders, or ornaments

b

: to set (a line of text, such as the first line of a paragraph) with a hanging indention

3

: to exhaust (oneself) in running

4

: to cause to leave by force or coercion : expel

Phrases

run out of

: to use up the available supply of

ran out of time

run out on

: desert

Examples of run out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Still, a salad and one negroni later, my energy stores had run out. —Allie Volpe, Vox, 14 Nov. 2024

However, with only six episodes left before the series finale, the time for games is running out. —Katie Rife, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2024

But when Terrapin’s lease ran out, Lesh and his wife announced that Terrapin was closing. —Paul Liberatore, The Mercury News, 4 Nov. 2024

The brothers ran out of shells and reloaded outside before returning to finish her off. —Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 3 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Kids Definition

run out

verb

1

: to come to an end : expire

time ran out before we could tie the game

2

: to become exhausted or used up

our supplies were running out