Word.ws English Dictionary

run to the ground

run to the ground is the alternative form of run into the ground.

Meaning of run into the ground

Verb

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

  1. (idiomatic, informal, transitive) To mismanage to the point of ruin.
    • Although he has an MBA from Harvard, he still ran the company into the ground.
  2. (idiomatic, informal, transitive) To wear out, especially through excessive use.
    • I figure this car has a few more years left in it and I intend to run it into the ground before purchasing another.
  3. (idiomatic, informal, transitive) To discuss ad nauseam.
    • You’ve run the upcoming election into the ground and I simply won’t listen to another word about it.

Forms of run to the ground

third-person singular presentruns to the ground
present participlerunning to the ground
pastran to the ground
past participlerun to the ground

Questions about run to the ground

What is run to the ground the alternative form of?
Run to the ground is the alternative form of run into the ground.

Words near run to the ground in the dictionary

  1. run to
  2. run to earth
  3. run to fat
  4. run to ground
  5. run to seed
  6. run to the ground
  7. run to the hills
  8. run to waste
  9. run up
  10. run up against
  11. run up in

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: run to the ground (page history and authors); run into the ground (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:

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