Word.ws English Dictionary

run out the clock

run out the clock verb: to preserve a lead in a game by retaining possession, to waste time.

Verb

run out the clock (third-person singular simple present runs out the clock, present participle running out the clock, simple past ran out the clock, past participle run out the clock)

  1. (idiomatic) To preserve a lead in a game by retaining possession, to waste time.

Synonyms of run out the clock

Forms of run out the clock

third-person singular presentruns out the clock
present participlerunning out the clock
pastran out the clock
past participlerun out the clock

Questions about run out the clock

What does run out the clock mean?
Run out the clock means to preserve a lead in a game by retaining possession, to waste time.
What part of speech is run out the clock?
Run out the clock is a verb.
What is the past tense of run out the clock?
The past tense of run out the clock is ran out the clock.

Words near run out the clock in the dictionary

  1. run out of gas
  2. run out of road
  3. run out of steam
  4. run out of town
  5. run out on
  6. run out the clock
  7. run outs
  8. run over
  9. run past
  10. run point
  11. run rampant

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: run out the clock (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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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-run out the clock.ogg.

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