eat and run

verb

To consume a meal/snack quickly, then soon after depart immediately and/or in a hurry.

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Meanings

verbeat and run (third-person singular simple present eats and runs, present participle eating and running, simple past ate and ran, past participle eaten and run)

present singular third person eats and runs · participle present eating and running · past ate and ran · participle past eaten and run

  1. colloquialfigurativelyintransitiveTo consume a meal/snack quickly, then soon after depart immediately and/or in a hurry.
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see eat, and, run.

Origin

First attested in the first half of 1900s.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

eat and run. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eat%20and%20run

MLA

“eat and run.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eat%20and%20run. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “eat and run,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eat%20and%20run.

Source: eat and run on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.