run-up

Noun

run-up (countable and uncountable, plural run-ups)

1. The approach run of a bowler before delivering the ball.
   • Jasprit Bumrah has the most unique run-up in the history of cricket.
2. The approach run of a high jumper or other athlete in order to gather speed or momentum.
   • But he still saw his side produce a rousing display which owed much to their lauded prowess from set-pieces, despite Uefa regulations meaning the pitch had to be widened and, in the process, the run-up area for Delap's long throws reduced.2011 September 29, Tom Rostance, “Stoke 2 - 1 Besiktas”, in BBC Sport
3. A period of time just before an important event.
   • The candidates were very nervous in the run-up to the election.
   • Politicians on TikTok will no longer be able to use the app tipping tools, nor access advertising features on the social network, as the company tightens its policies around political issues in the run-up to the US midterm elections in six weeks’ time.2022 September 21, Alex Hern, “TikTok tightens policies around political issues in run-up to US midterms”, in The Guardian
4. An increase in the value or amount of something.
   • Economists expect a run-up of long-term interest rates.
   • A Price Run-Up for Run-Down Communes [title]2006 December 22, Andrew E. Kramer, “A Price Run-Up for Run-Down Communes”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

   Synonyms:

   hike

5. The extent of a wave's reach onto land as the result of a tsunami or storm such as a cyclone.
   • I found sand pushed all the way to the edge of my home by the run-up of Wednesday's tsunami.
   • Historical records of tsunamis in this region are available for the last 400 years, and the run-up heights of historical tsunamis at Koyadori were estimated and measured"2019, Daisuke Ishimura, Keitaro Yamada, “Palaeo-tsunami inundation distances deduced from roundness of gravel particles in tsunami deposits”, in Scientific Reports, volume 9, →DOI, page 2
6. (transitive) The process of warming up and testing an airplane before a flight.