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run circles around

verb

To outperform by a great margin.

“You may think you're a good seller Carla, but Rickey will run circles around you any day!”

Similar

run rings around run rings round

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Meanings

verbrun circles around (third-person singular simple present runs circles around, present participle running circles around, simple past ran circles around, past participle run circles around)

present singular third person runs circles around · participle present running circles around · past ran circles around · alternative run circles round

figurativelyTo outperform by a great margin.
You may think you're a good seller Carla, but Rickey will run circles around you any day!
Synonyms: run rings around, run rings round

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo outperform by a great margin.

Similar

run rings around run rings round

Also see

run rings around

Origin

Figurative, by the metaphor of lapping footrace competitors.

Full word history & related roots →

Cite this entry

APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: run circles around on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.