Word.ws English Dictionary

runner

Syllables: run·nerUK/ˈɹʌnə/US/ˈɹʌnɚ/

runner noun: a person who moves, on foot, at a fast pace, especially an athlete.

runner: a person who moves, on foot, at a fast pace, especially an athlete
Image: Bruce, Elsie, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

runner (plural runners)

  1. A person who moves, on foot, at a fast pace, especially an athlete.
    • The first runner to cross the finish line wins the race.
    • Near-synonym: racer
    Synonyms:
    racer
  2. Any entrant, person or animal (especially a horse), for a race or any competition; a candidate for an election.
    • The mare is the stables' runner for the 5.15 race at Epsom.
    • The judge said she would not be a runner in the upcoming elections.
  3. (slang) A competitor in a poker tournament.
  4. Somebody who controls or manages (e.g. a system).
    • […] at least half of which would be put into the pool for the winner, the rest kept for the runners of the system to cover costs and more than likely make a fair profit.1998 June 12, Daniel Jonathan Kirk, “tipping competitions”, in aus.legal (Usenet)
  5. (in-compounds) A person or vessel that runs blockades or engages in smuggling.
    • The gunrunners were arrested leaving the airport.
    • The modus operandi used by the idol and antique runners is to order consignments of fakes.1992, Hamendar Bhisham Pal, The Plunder of Art, page 75
  6. A player who runs for a batsman who is too injured to run; he is dressed exactly as the injured batsman, and carries a bat.
  7. A baserunner.
    • The runner was out at second.
  8. (Australian rules football) A person (from one or the other team) who runs out onto the field during the game to take verbal instructions from the coach to the players. A runner mustn't interfere with play, and may have to wear an identifying shirt to make clear his or her purpose on the field.
  9. Anyone sent on an errand or with communications, especially for a bank (or, historically, a foot soldier responsible for carrying messages during war).
    • By 1963, Carmine was working as a "runner" for an accounting firm, and he would drop by 1619 Broadway to knock on doors in hopes of selling off some of his songs1990, Wayne Jancik, The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders, →ISBN, page 242
  10. A restaurant employee responsible for taking food from the kitchens to the tables.
    • “Then you divide your army amongst the various houses where restorations are ordered for Jubilee day?” / “Certainly—say one waiter to ten guests—if it was a dinner we should send one waiter to six guests—with runners, of course.” / “Runners?” / “Omnibuses you call them here—young...1897 June 19, “The Jubilee Waiters. Some Words with the Maître d’Hôtel.”, in The Daily News, number 15,984, London, →OCLC, page 2, column 6
    • […] the chef can send a runner to see why not and if the waiter has forgotten about the order, a runner can cover and serve.1989, Caterer & Hotelkeeper, volume 180, page 83
  11. (US, dated) A trusty (prisoner granted special privileges).
    • In our prisons you might find a condemned man working as a runner, a trusty, which is about as far from segregation as you can get.1959, Frederick S. Baldi, My Unwelcome Guests, page 25
  12. (slang) An employee of a sports agent who tries to recruit possible player clients for the agent.
    • This week hundreds of NFL agents gathered to hear an honorable man talk about a noble pipedream. It was a discussion about a significant step to end one of the cornerstones of corruption in college football: runners. Not the backs getting their 40 times tested at the scouting combine but the...Freeman, Mike (25 February 2012), “Runners' world: Union boss Smith's noble idea likely stuck at the start”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), CBSSports.com, retrieved 19 Mar 2014
Show 30 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. A person hired by a gambling establishment to locate potential customers and bring them in.
  2. One who runs away; a deserter or escapee.
  3. An assistant.
  4. (slang, usually in the phrase do a runner) A quick escape away from a scene; (by extension) the person who gets away.
    • He did a runner after robbing the drugstore.
    • We were shocked, astonished, when the staff, when pushed, disclosed that they had had to cover runners the previous night. The runners used the scam of ‘smoking’ to go outside after eating and drinking champagne and top-notch wine … and kept walking. And who paid their bill? Staff! Disgusting.2018 March 24, Loch Fyne, quotee, “True or false? 'If you do a runner, the waiter has to pay your bill'”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
  5. (Australia, Canada, Ireland, Scotland) A type of soft-soled shoe originally intended for runners.
    • Tess stands by Mr Foley in runners that are bright yellow and exuberant and off-putting.2023, Elaine Feeney, How to Build a Boat, Vintage (2024), page 167
    Synonyms:
    sneaker, trainer
  6. Part of a shoe that is stitched to the bottom of the upper so it can be glued to the sole.
  7. A part of an apparatus that moves quickly.
    • After the cycle completes, the runner travels back quickly to be in place for the next cycle.
  8. A smooth strip on which a sledge runs.
  9. The blade of an ice skate.
  10. The channel or strip on which a drawer is opened and closed.
  11. Part of a mechanism which allows something to be pulled out for maintenance.
    • Maintenance was simplified by making all components easily accessible and easy to remove: for example, the air compressors in the short nose slide out on runners.1962 June, “Beyond the Channel: U.S.S.R.: A 3,000 h.p. diesel-hydraulic from MaK”, in Modern Railways, page 416
  12. The curved base of a rocking chair.
    Synonyms:
    rocker
  13. In saddlery, a loop of metal through which a rein is passed.
  14. In molding, a channel cut in a mold.
  15. The rotating-stone of a grinding-mill.
  16. The movable piece to which the ribs of an umbrella are attached.
  17. A tool in which lenses are fastened for polishing.
  18. (slang) An automobile; a working or driveable automobile.
    • The car salesman told me that the used Volvo was a nice little runner.
    • Is that old Mercedes on the forecourt a runner? / No, it has no gearbox.
  19. A strip of fabric used to decorate or protect a table or dressing table.
    • The red runner makes the table so festive.
  20. A long, narrow carpet for a high-traffic area such as a hall or stairs.
    • Why don't we put down a clear runner in the front hall?
  21. (slang) A part of a cigarette that is burning unevenly.
  22. A long stolon sent out by a plant (such as strawberry), in order to root new plantlets, or a plant that propagates by using such runners.
  23. A short sling with a carabiner on either end, used to link the climbing rope to a bolt or other protection such as a nut or friend.
    Synonyms:
    quick-draw, extender
  24. A leaping food fish (Elagatis pinnulatis) of Florida and the West Indies; the skipjack, shoemaker, or yellowtail.
  25. A rope to increase the power of a tackle.
  26. A speedrunner.
  27. An idea or plan that has potential to be adopted or put into operation.
    • This idea isn't a runner. Let's not waste any more time on it.
  28. A running gag.
    • Don’t Look Up jabs around omnidirectionally, and some of the most gleefully ridiculous jokes land: There’s an inspired runner about an increasingly scandal-plagued Supreme Court nominee, for example, and another in which politicians and voters alike absurdly declare their allegiance to “the jobs...7 December 2021, Jesse Hassenger, “Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence cope with disaster in the despairing satire Don’t Look Up”, in AV Club
    • The fairy-tale promise of love and intimacy became a runner in Swift’s work as a songwriter, something she’d repeatedly espouse, then skewer; she was self-aware about the role narrative played in her expectations.2023 December 6, Sam Lansky, “Person of Year 2023 : Taylor Swift”, in Time, archived from the original on 06 Dec 2023
  29. A streamlet.
    • A runner, or streamlet, from other woods joined it at this end, and waited in the pool to pass through the grating to the mills.1927, Henry Williamson, Tarka the Otter
  30. A boat for transporting fish, oysters, etc.

Noun (2) capitalized: Runner

Runner (plural Runners)

  1. (abbreviation) Short for Bow Street Runner

Proper noun capitalized: Runner

Runner (plural Runners)

  1. A surname.

runner meaning in Hindi, Marathi, Urdu and Bengali

runner in Hindi

somebody who runs, who moves at a fast pace
धावक dhāvak, रनर ranar

runner in Marathi

somebody who runs, who moves at a fast pace
धावक dhāvak, धावणारा dhāvṇārā, धावणारी dhāvṇārī

runner in Urdu

somebody who runs, who moves at a fast pace
رَنَر ranar

runner in Bengali

দৌড়বিদ, রানার
More languagesFewer languages
runner in Telugu
రన్నర్, పరుగెత్తేవాడు
runner in Malayalam
ഓട്ടക്കാരൻ, ഓടുന്നയാൾ
runner in Kannada
ಓಟಗಾರ, ರನ್ನರ್
runner in Punjabi
ਦੌਡ਼ਾਕ, ਦੌਡ਼ਨ ਵਾਲਾ
runner in Gujarati
દોડવીર, ધાવક
runner in Nepali
धावक
runner in Tagalog
sangansibol
runner in Arabic
عَدَّاء ʕaddāʔ, عَدَّاءَة ʕaddāʔa
runner in Persian
دَوَندِه davande
runner in Thai
นักวิ่ง nák-wîng
runner in Vietnamese
người chạy
runner in Myanmar
အပြေးသမား a.pre:sa.ma:

Examples of runner in a sentence

  • I was the first runner to reach the finish line, and won the race.
  • The runner in second place is closing the gap on the leader.
  • The pitcher attempted to pick off the runner at first, but he was safe.

All 40 example sentences with runner

Synonyms of runner

All synonyms of runner

Forms of runner

Noun
pluralrunners
pluralRunners
Proper noun
pluralRunners

Plural of runner: runners

Origin of runner

From Middle English rennere, rynner, urnare, equivalent to run + -er. Cognate with Old Norse rennari (“runner; messenger”). Displaced earlier Middle English runel (“runner”), from Old English rynel (“runner”; also “messenger, courier”). ((botany) a long stolon sent by a plant): Compare typologically Russian побе́г (pobég) (akin to бежа́ть (bežátʹ)).

Words formed from runner

Phrases with runner

9 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with runner

Questions about runner

What does runner mean?
Runner means a person who moves, on foot, at a fast pace, especially an athlete.
What is runner in Hindi?
Runner in Hindi is धावक (dhāvak), रनर (ranar). See Runner meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is runner?
Runner can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce runner?
Runner is pronounced /ˈɹʌnɚ/ (US).
What is the plural of runner?
The plural of runner is runners.

Words near runner in the dictionary

  1. runnelled
  2. runnelling
  3. runnels
  4. Runnels County
  5. Runnemede
  6. runner
  7. runner bean
  8. runner beans
  9. runner poison
  10. runner stone
  11. runner stones

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: runner (page history and authors); Runner (page history and authors); runner (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); runner (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); runner (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); runner (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); runner (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); runner (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); runner (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). 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-runner.ogg.

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