FluentPlex

run down

verb
  1. To hit someone with a car or other vehicle and injure or kill them. (transitive) · He was run down while crossing the main road.
  2. To criticize someone or an organisation, often unfairly. (transitive) · Whatever the company says, the media is going to run them down.· My sister is always running me down in front of my friends.
  3. To find something or someone after searching for a long time. (transitive) · I finally managed to run down that report. I had filed it incorrectly.
  4. To lose power slowly. Used for a machine, battery, or other powered device. (intransitive, transitive) · You need to wind up the clock every day so that it doesn't run down.· If you don't switch off the car lights, you will run the battery down.
  5. To read quickly a list or other short text. (transitive) · Running down the list of suggestions, I can see three we can discard immediately.
  6. To describe in the form of a rundown, a rough outline or summary. (transitive)
  7. To decline in quality or condition. · to run down in health
  8. To chase till the object pursued is captured or exhausted. · to run down a stag
+ Save to review

From the library

“When they scratched against the tin it made a cold shiver run down my back.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, p. 33 · B2
“I’ll run down and see Rachel about it this evening,” she thought.
Anne of Green Gables, p. 121 · C1
And then shall I run down the cellar and get some russets, Matthew?
Anne of Green Gables, p. 135 · C1
“Yes, I think we must run down to Cambridge together.
The Return of Sherlock Holmes, p. 111 · C1

Learn run down in real texts

With a free account, hover any word in the library for its meaning, hear it read aloud, save words for review timed to your memory, and see how much of each book you already know.

Create free account
Words, meanings, pronunciations and translations from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); how common each word is from wordfreq. Made into this dictionary by FluentPlex.