Word.ws English Dictionary

running

/ˈɹʌnɪŋ/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

Midlands/ˈɹʊnɪŋ/

running is the present participle and gerund of run.

Adjective

running (not comparable)

  1. Moving or advancing at a run.
    1. Of a horse, having a running gait; not a trotter or pacer.
  2. Present, current.
    • running month
  3. Flowing; easy; cursive.
    • running handwriting
  4. Continuous; ongoing; keeping along step by step.
    • a running commentary, a running explanation, my running theory
    • Thus a constant running fire was kept up, and no interval allowed for the enemy to stand to their guns in safety […]1778, John Hamilton Moore, A New and Complete Collection of Voyages and Travels
  5. Having a continuous design or pattern.
    • running bond; running ornament
  6. Consecutive (much more commonly expressed by an adverb; see below).
    • He won the title for three running years.
  7. Extending by a slender climbing or trailing stem.
    • a running vine
  8. Discharging pus.
    • a running sore
  9. Discharging snot or mucus.
    • a running nose
    Synonyms:
    runny

Noun

running (countable and uncountable, plural runnings)

  1. The action of the verb to run.
    • His running of the business leaves something to be desired.
    • The train operating company owning group warned in early December that it was unable to publish its results for the year to July 3 2021, following an investigation into the running of Southeastern, which was stripped of its franchise in October [...].2022 January 12, “Network News: Trading of Go-Ahead Group shares halted”, in RAIL, number 948, page 7
  2. The activity of running as a form of exercise, as a sport, or for any other reason.
    • Running is good exercise.
  3. That which runs or flows; the quantity of a liquid which flows in a certain time or during a certain operation.
    • the first running of a still
  4. The discharge from an ulcer or other sore.
  5. (colloquial) The act of running errands.
    • I'm gonna go out and do my running.
  6. The dependence of measured value, typically a coupling constant, on the energy scale at which it is probed due to higher-order interaction terms and associated renormalization issues becoming relevant; metaphorically, the "running" of the measurement from its limiting macroscopic value.

Meaning of run

Verb

run (third-person singular simple present runs, present participle running, simple past ran, past participle run or (nonstandard, colloquial) ran)

  1. (intransitive) To move forward quickly upon two feet by alternately making a short jump off either foot.
    • Run, and you might still catch the train!
  2. (intransitive) To go at a fast pace; to move quickly.
    • I have been running all over the building looking for him.
  3. (transitive) To cover (a course or a distance) by running.
    • I can run a mile, but I can't run the cross-country course.
  4. (transitive) To complete a running course or event in (a given time).
    • I was hoping to make the team, but I didn't run the qualifying time.
  5. (intransitive) To move briskly or smoothly with a motion of sliding, rolling, sweeping etc.
    • The shuttle runs back and forth on these rollers.
  6. (transitive) To cause to move quickly or lightly.
    • Every day I run my dog across the field and back.

See all 117 meanings of run

Adverb

running (not comparable)

  1. (informal) Consecutively; in a row.
    • Mom's strawberry jam won the blue ribbon at the Holland County Fair three years running.

Preposition

running

  1. (colloquial) Approaching; about; roughly.

Proper noun capitalized: Running

Running (plural Runnings)

  1. A surname.

Synonyms of running

Forms of running

Noun
pluralrunnings
Proper noun
pluralRunnings

Origin of running

By surface analysis, run + -ing.

Words formed from running

Phrases with running

141 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with running

Questions about running

What does running mean?
Running means moving or advancing at a run.
What is running the present participle and gerund of?
Running is the present participle and gerund of run.
What part of speech is running?
Running can be an adjective, an adverb, a noun or a preposition.
How do you pronounce running?
Running is pronounced /ˈɹʌnɪŋ/ (UK).

Words near running in the dictionary

  1. runnier
  2. runniest
  3. runnily
  4. runnin'
  5. runniness
  6. running
  7. running a bath
  8. running a fever
  9. running a mile
  10. running a muck
  11. running a red light

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: running (page history and authors); Running (page history and authors); run (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-us-running.ogg, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Back ache-running.wav.

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