Word.ws English Dictionary

ran like a dry creek

ran like a dry creek is the simple past of run like a dry creek.

Meaning of run like a dry creek

Verb

run like a dry creek (third-person singular simple present runs like a dry creek, present participle running like a dry creek, simple past ran like a dry creek, past participle run like a dry creek)

  1. (US, colloquial, simile) To run for political office with little chance of success.
    • The Scripps-Howard newspapers, which are supporting Eisenhower, criticized Ike for "running like a dry creek."1952, LIFE, volume 33, number 10, page 49
  2. (US, colloquial, simile) To run (in various senses) badly or not at all.
    • Carlyle had a brief trial in the big leagues with the Red Sox and the Yankees. But he ran like a dry creek and was weak of arm.1956, American Mercury, volume 83, number 390, page 153

Questions about ran like a dry creek

What is ran like a dry creek the simple past of?
Ran like a dry creek is the simple past of run like a dry creek.

Words near ran like a dry creek in the dictionary

  1. ran into a brick wall
  2. ran into one
  3. ran into the ground
  4. ran it up
  5. ran late
  6. ran like a dry creek
  7. ran like a top
  8. ran lines
  9. ran low
  10. ran mad
  11. ran nowhere

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: ran like a dry creek (page history and authors); run like a dry creek (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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