running off

verb

Definition of running offnext
present participle of run off
1
as in ejecting
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 escaping
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 flying
to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening the mouse ran off as soon as it saw us

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for running off
  1. escaping
  2. dismissing
  3. fleeing
  4. retreating
  5. running
Verb
  • Nash-Betts' character ended up crashing her car, landing her back in the hospital with Ed as her nurse, and the episode ended with the pair breaking out of the hospital hand-in-hand and escaping in Ed's red convertible.
    Julia Moore, People.com, 3 Oct. 2024
  • Helene was so destructive, many residents don’t have a home left to clean up, escaping the storm with little more than the clothes on their backs, even losing their shoes to the surging tides.
    Kate Payne and David R. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2024
Definition of escaping
Verb
  • Despite Springfield’s mayor dismissing these claims, the damage was done.
    Aisha M. Beliso-De Jesús / Made by History, TIME, 4 Oct. 2024
  • The court has saved the county $819,000 through the end of August by dismissing weak cases and adjusting bond amounts so low-risk defendants can leave the county jail, which is currently overflowing with inmates.
    Brooke Park, San Antonio Express-News, 3 Oct. 2024
Definition of dismissing
Verb
  • The blaze, fueled by high winds and dry vegetation, rapidly spread as chaos overtook the town, sending some residents fleeing into the ocean and trapping others in their vehicles.
    Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY, 3 Oct. 2024
  • Workers are already fleeing the profession in search of higher wages in retail or fast food.
    Jenny Gold, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2024
Definition of fleeing
Verb
  • If using a fountain pen or retreating to a mountain house can make the cognitive load of producing text even somewhat more bearable, writers will consider it.
    Cal Newport, The New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2024
  • If Tehran opts not to retaliate, though, Iran will look weak and appear to be retreating from Israel.
    Dan De Luce, NBC News, 30 Sep. 2024
Definition of retreating
Verb
  • Despite a strong stretch drive, their final record of 93-69 left them five games behind the front-running Dodgers in the National League West.
    Dan Schlossberg, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2024
  • Investing in a franchise is often perceived as less of a financial risk than embarking on an independent enterprise, as well as offering the ability to be up and running and generating income relatively quickly.
    Fiona Simpson, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2024
Definition of running
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near running off

running mates

running off

running off with

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Running off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/running%20off. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

8 Words with Fascinating Histories

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

10 Scrabble Words Without Any Vowels
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
silhouette of a man with a megaphone against a british flag
Another Great British Vocabulary Quiz, Innit? A double-decker quiz with words from across the pond