Meanings
- pluralplural of run
- oftenpluralplural onlyslangwith definite articleDiarrhea/diarrhoea.
He missed several days of school because he had the runs. They think it was a Norovirus infection.
1 more example
We also had a bad case of runs since we were not used to the rich meat.
1991, Joseph A. Petak, Never Plan Tomorrow: The Saga of the Bataan Death March and Battle of Corregidor Survivors 1942-1945Synonyms: the shits, diarrh(o)ea
- indicativepresentsingularthird personthird-person singular simple present indicative of run
Synonyms & antonyms
nounDiarrhea/diarrhoea.
Origin
Usually said to allude to the fact that an affected person is frequently running to get to a toilet immediately. Sometimes said to allude to the runniness (runny consistency) of the stool.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Dutch racekak
- racekakdiarrhea
French courante, chiasse
- courantediarrhea
- chiassediarrhea
Italian diarrea, sciolta
- diarreadiarrhea
- scioltadiarrhea
- cagottodiarrhea
- cagarelladiarrhea
Latin foria
- foriadiarrhea
Polish sraczka, biegunka
- sraczkadiarrhea
- biegunkadiarrhea
Swedish rännskita, ränneskita
- rännskitadiarrhea
- ränneskitadiarrhea
- diarrédiarrhea
Ukrainian бігу́нка
- бігу́нка (bihúnka)diarrhea
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with runs
All rhymes →Cite this entry
runs. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/runs
“runs.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/runs. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “runs,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/runs.
Source: runs on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.