Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The act or an instance of running.
  • noun The power or ability to run.
  • noun Sports The exercise or sport of someone who runs.
  • adjective Ongoing over a period of time.
  • adjective Set in continuous or unbroken lines.
  • adjective Printed at the top or bottom of every page or every other page.
  • adverb In a consecutive way.
  • idiom (in the running) Entered as a contender in a competition.
  • idiom (in the running) Having the possibility of winning or placing well in a competition.
  • idiom (out of the running) Not entered as a contender in a competition.
  • idiom (out of the running) Having no possibility of winning or placing well in a competition.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of one who or that which runs.
  • noun Specifically, the act of one who risks or evades dangers or legal restrictions, as in running a blockade or smuggling.
  • noun The action of a whale after being struck by the harpoon, when it swims but does not sound.
  • noun In racing, etc., power, ability, or strength to run; hence, staying power.
  • noun The ranging of any animals, particularly in connection with the rut, or other actions of the breeding season: also used attributively: as, the running time of salmon or deer.
  • noun In organ-building, a leakage of the air in a wind-chest into a channel so that a pipe is sounded when its digital is depressed, although its stop is not drawn; also, the sound of a pipe thus sounded. Also called running of the wind.
  • noun That which runs or flows; the quantity run: as, the first running of a still, or of cider at the mill.
  • noun Course, direction, or manner of flowing or moving.
  • That runs; suited for running, racing, etc. See run, n., 1 .
  • Specifically, in zoology, cursorial; gressorial; ambulatory; not salient or saltatory.
  • Capable of moving quickly; movable; mobilized.
  • Done, made, taken, etc., in passing, or while hastening along; hence, cursory; hasty; speedy.
  • Cursive, as manuscript: as, running hand (see below).
  • Proceeding in close succession; without intermission: used in a semi-adverbial sense after nouns denoting periods of time: as, I had the same dream three nights running.
  • Continuous; unintermittent; persistent.
  • In botany, repent or creeping by runners, as the strawberry. See runner, 2.
  • A horizontal board along the ridge of a box freight-car or the side of an oil-car, to form a passage for the trainmen.
  • In machinery, moving; not held tightly; not fixed. A running fit is one where two surfaces in contact fit so loosely that one can move freely past the other.
  • Approaching; going on.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The act of one who, or of that which runs.
  • noun That which runs or flows; the quantity of a liquid which flows in a certain time or during a certain operation.
  • noun The discharge from an ulcer or other sore.
  • noun [Obs.] in the long run.
  • adjective Moving or advancing by running.
  • adjective Having a running gait; not a trotter or pacer.
  • adjective trained and kept for running races.
  • adjective Successive; one following the other without break or intervention; -- said of periods of time.
  • adjective Flowing; easy; cursive.
  • adjective Continuous; keeping along step by step.
  • adjective (Bot.) Extending by a slender climbing or trailing stem.
  • adjective (Med.) Discharging pus.
  • adjective (Mech.) a block in an arrangement of pulleys which rises or sinks with the weight which is raised or lowered.
  • adjective a narrow platform extending along the side of a locomotive.
  • adjective (Naut.) Same as Reefing bowsprit.
  • adjective (Com.) the consecutive days occupied on a voyage under a charter party, including Sundays and not limited to the working days.
  • adjective a constant fire of musketry or cannon.
  • adjective the wheels and axles of a vehicle, and their attachments, in distinction from the body; all the working parts of a locomotive or other machine, in distinction from the framework.
  • adjective a style of rapid writing in which the letters are usually slanted and the words formed without lifting the pen; -- distinguished from round hand.
  • adjective (Naut.) that part of a rope that is hauled upon, -- in distinction from the standing part.

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Romney spent most of the second half of his term running around the country making jokes about Massachusetts and preparing a 2008 presidential bid.

    D. R. Tucker: The Impersonator D. R. Tucker 2012

  • The term "running quarterback" is usually met with disdain in the NFL, but if teams can't figure out how to beat it, wouldn't you want to keep at it?

    Forbes.com: News Bob Cook 2011

  • I might need to do one of those promises again ... running is ok, as long as it is not 30-45C outside though ...

    Archive: Oct 08 - Mar 09 Cath@VWXYNot? 2009

  • There is a difference in running from a debate and simply ignoring a deparate contender.

    Clinton challenges Obama to Lincoln-Douglas style debate 2008

  • Similarly I think that depression is the necessary aversive state between "normal" and a state of extreme metabolic stress, as in running from a bear.

    Blogging About Anti-Anxiety Meds Candid Engineer 2008

  • The meeting comes as the Bernanke waits for what promises to be a contentious vote in the Senate on his nomination to another term running the U.S. central bank for another four years.

    Market News 2010

  • Mohamed bin Hammam has said he will step down as AFC chief if he loses his FIFA position, despite his term running until 2011.

    Channel NewsAsia Front Page News 2009

  • He spent the last third of his term running for the presidential nomination and then running for VP.

    Common Folk Using Common Sense 2008

  • He spent the last third of his term running for the presidential nomination and then running for VP.

    Hot Air » Top Picks 2008

  • While he and his cross-country coach shared a similar running philosophy—which he describes as "running with the heart," or drawing motivation from one's internal fire—the track coach demanded that he run by the stopwatch.

    The Cross-Country Runner Allysia Finley 2011

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