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

Just as time was running out, Arias turned to the mike and opened the segment. —Stephania Taladrid, The New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2024

In the middle of shooting for John Wick, the first movie in the series that stars Keanu Reeves, the production ran out of money. —Paolo Confino, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2024

After Hitler’s appointment as chancellor in 1933, Jewish performers quickly lost work, and Reuss was running out of money. —Tomas Weber, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Oct. 2024

Time is running out for Cash App users to file a claim for reimbursement for the data and security breach. —Ahjané Forbes, USA TODAY, 24 Oct. 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