Meanings
present singular third person runs out · participle present running out · past ran out
- idiomaticintransitivetransitiveTo use up or consume all
Get some more beer out of the fridge before we run out.
3 more examples
If this hot weather continues, we will run out of ice cream.
Hey you will, run out of reasons, / Long before the lights go on / And while everybody is dancing baby, / I'll have you in my arms.
1977, The Originals, “Been Decided”, in Down to Love TownEngland keeper Joe Hart had to save smartly from the dangerous Andriy Yarmolenko, who also raised the hopes of the Donetsk crowd as he evaded several challenges in the area before running out of space.
2012 June 19, Phil McNulty, “England 1-0 Ukraine”, in BBC Sport - intransitiveTo expire; to come to an end.
The option will run out next week and I can't get it extended.
1 more example
My driving licence runs out next week, so I had better renew it now.
- intransitiveTo be completely used up or consumed.
Time is running out.
4 more examples
Oh no! The wine has run out!
His string of bad luck has hopefully run out.
Mario Balotelli replaced Tevez but his contribution was so negligible that he suffered the indignity of being substituted himself as time ran out, a development that encapsulated a wretched 90 minutes for City and boss Roberto Mancini.
2011 April 11, Phil McNulty, “Liverpool 3 - 0 Man City”, in BBC SportTime is running out, so I renounce a spin on a Class 387 for a fast run to Paddington on another Class 800 - a shame as the weather was perfect for pictures. Even so, it's enjoyable - boy, can those trains shift under the wires.
2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 68
- ball gamesTo get a batsman out (dismissed from play) via a runout.
Jackson was run out for a duck in the first over.
1 more example
With three runs needed from two balls, Adil Rashid was run out coming back for a second. When Wood suffered the same fate from the final ball, the match was tied.
2019 July 14, Stephan Shemilt, “England win Cricket World Cup: Ben Stokes stars in dramatic finale against New Zealand”, in BBC Sport, London - transitiveTo extend a piece of material, or clothing.
If I run out these curtains, they will fit the windows in the drawing room.
- To force (someone or something) out of a location or state of being.
They'll run us out of business doing that!
1 more example
If the mob thinks you did it, they'll run you out of town.
- archaicTo grow poor over time by spending all of one's money.
- obsoletemediaTo fill a line with quadrats or full points.
Synonyms & antonyms
verbUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: see run, out.
More synonyms by meaning
verbleave suddenly and as if in a hurry
verbuse up all one's strength and energy and stop working
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Ancient Greek ὑστερέω
- ὑστερέω (husteréō)to use up
Arabic نَفِدَ
- نَفِدَ (nafida)to expire, to come to an end
Catalan exhaurir, expirar
- exhaurirto use up
- expirarto expire, to come to an end
- esgotarto expire, to come to an end
- acabar-seto expire, to come to an end
Dutch niet meer hebben, opraken
- niet meer hebbento use up
- oprakento be completely used up
- aflopento expire, to come to an end
Esperanto elĉerpi
- elĉerpito use up
Finnish loppua, käyttää loppuun
- loppuato use up
- käyttää loppuunto use up
- päättyäto expire, to come to an end
- loppuato expire, to come to an end
French épuiser, être à court
- épuiserto use up
- être à courtto use up
- venir à expirationto expire, to come to an end
- toucher à sa finto expire, to come to an end
- expirerto expire, to come to an end
- venir à manquerto expire, to come to an end
German ausgehen, ausgehen
- ausgehento use up
- ausgehento be completely used up
- ablaufento expire, to come to an end
Hungarian kifogy, kifut
- kifogyto use up
- kifutto use up
- elfogyto be completely used up
- kifogyto be completely used up
- elfogyto expire, to come to an end
- kifogyto expire, to come to an end
Icelandic þrjóta, renna út
- þrjótato be completely used up
- renna útto expire, to come to an end
Irish rith as, bheith caite
- rith asto use up
- bheith caiteto be completely used up
- téigh in éagto expire, to come to an end
Italian essere a corto, esaurire
- essere a cortoto use up
- esaurireto expire, to come to an end
- finireto expire, to come to an end
Polish kończyć się, skończyć się
- kończyć sięto expire, to come to an end
- skończyć sięto expire, to come to an end
- zabraknąćto expire, to come to an end
Portuguese ficar sem, acabar
- ficar semto use up
- acabarto expire, to come to an end
Romanian rămâne fără
- rămâne fărăto use up
Russian зака́нчиваться, зако́нчиться
- зака́нчиваться (zakánčivatʹsja)to expire, to come to an end
- зако́нчиться (zakónčitʹsja)to expire, to come to an end
- конча́ться (končátʹsja)to expire, to come to an end
- ко́нчиться (kónčitʹsja)to expire, to come to an end
- иссяка́ть (issjakátʹ)to expire, to come to an end
- исся́кнуть (issjáknutʹ)to expire, to come to an end
Spanish agotar, quedarse sin
- agotarto use up
- quedarse sinto use up
- acabarseto use up
- expirarto expire, to come to an end
- extinguirseto expire, to come to an end
- vencerto expire, to come to an end
Swedish få slut (på), tryta
- få slut (på)to use up
- trytato be completely used up
- gå utto expire, to come to an end
- förfallato expire, to come to an end
Turkish bitmek, tükenmek
- bitmekto expire, to come to an end
- tükenmekto expire, to come to an end
Ukrainian закі́нчуватися, закінчи́тися
- закі́нчуватися (zakínčuvatysja)to expire, to come to an end
- закінчи́тися (zakinčýtysja)to expire, to come to an end
- виче́рпуватися (vyčérpuvatysja)to expire, to come to an end
- ви́черпатися (výčerpatysja)to expire, to come to an end
Vietnamese hết
- hếtto use up
Welsh torri i fyny, torri i fyny
- torri i fynyto use up
- torri i fynyto be completely used up
- dod i bento expire, to come to an end
Cite this entry
run out. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/run%20out
“run out.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/run%20out. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “run out,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/run%20out.
Source: run out on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.