Word.ws English Dictionary

run something up the flagpole

run something up the flagpole verb: to propose an idea or make a suggestion in order to acquire feedback from others.

Verb

run something up the flagpole (third-person singular simple present runs something up the flagpole, present participle running something up the flagpole, simple past ran something up the flagpole, past participle run something up the flagpole)

  1. (idiomatic, transitive) To propose an idea or make a suggestion in order to acquire feedback from others.
    • The idea might not be so bad; why don't you run it up the flagpole at the next board meeting?
    Synonyms:
    float

Synonyms of run something up the flagpole

Forms of run something up the flagpole

third-person singular presentruns something up the flagpole
present participlerunning something up the flagpole
pastran something up the flagpole
past participlerun something up the flagpole

Origin of run something up the flagpole

Short form of run it up the flagpole, to see who salutes.

Questions about run something up the flagpole

What does run something up the flagpole mean?
Run something up the flagpole means to propose an idea or make a suggestion in order to acquire feedback from others.
What part of speech is run something up the flagpole?
Run something up the flagpole is a verb.
What is the past tense of run something up the flagpole?
The past tense of run something up the flagpole is ran something up the flagpole.

Words near run something up the flagpole in the dictionary

  1. run sheets
  2. run short
  3. run someone off their feet
  4. run someone ragged
  5. run someone's file
  6. run something up the flagpole
  7. run tee
  8. run tees
  9. run the clock down
  10. run the gamut
  11. run the gantlope

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: run something up the flagpole (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.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-run something up the flagpole.ogg.

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