Word.ws English Dictionary

run the gamut

run the gamut verb: to encompass the full range or variety possible.

Verb

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

  1. (idiomatic) To encompass the full range or variety possible.
    • His tastes in music run the gamut from classical to heavy metal.
    • Palestinians often feel that the police do very little to stop settler violence, which runs the gamut from physical assault, arson, cutting or burning down olive trees, stone throwing at random Palestinian cars, and property damage.2018, Edo Konrad, “Living in the constant shadow of settler violence”, in +972 Magazine

Forms of run the gamut

third-person singular presentruns the gamut
present participlerunning the gamut
pastran the gamut
past participlerun the gamut

Origin of run the gamut

From gamut (“complete range”).

Questions about run the gamut

What does run the gamut mean?
Run the gamut means to encompass the full range or variety possible.
What part of speech is run the gamut?
Run the gamut is a verb.
What is the past tense of run the gamut?
The past tense of run the gamut is ran the gamut.

Words near run the gamut in the dictionary

  1. run someone's file
  2. run something up the flagpole
  3. run tee
  4. run tees
  5. run the clock down
  6. run the gamut
  7. run the gantlope
  8. run the gauntlet
  9. run the gauntlope
  10. run the guard
  11. run the risk

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: run the gamut (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 the gamut.ogg.

Cite this entry: “run the gamut.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/run_the_gamut. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.