Word.ws English Dictionary

running like a dry creek

running like a dry creek is the present participle and gerund of run like a dry creek.

Meaning of run like a dry creek

Verb

run like a dry creek (third-person singular simple present runs like a dry creek, present participle running like a dry creek, simple past ran like a dry creek, past participle run like a dry creek)

  1. (US, colloquial, simile) To run for political office with little chance of success.
    • The Scripps-Howard newspapers, which are supporting Eisenhower, criticized Ike for "running like a dry creek."1952, LIFE, volume 33, number 10, page 49
  2. (US, colloquial, simile) To run (in various senses) badly or not at all.
    • Carlyle had a brief trial in the big leagues with the Red Sox and the Yankees. But he ran like a dry creek and was weak of arm.1956, American Mercury, volume 83, number 390, page 153

Questions about running like a dry creek

What is running like a dry creek the present participle and gerund of?
Running like a dry creek is the present participle and gerund of run like a dry creek.

Words near running like a dry creek in the dictionary

  1. running lane
  2. running lanes
  3. running late
  4. running light
  5. running lights
  6. running like a dry creek
  7. running like a top
  8. running line
  9. running lines
  10. running load
  11. running loads

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: running like a dry creek (page history and authors); run like a dry creek (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.

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