Word.ws English Dictionary

running on empty

running on empty is the present participle and gerund of run on empty.

Meaning of run on empty

Verb

run on empty (third-person singular simple present runs on empty, present participle running on empty, simple past ran on empty, past participle run on empty)

  1. (idiomatic) To be losing enthusiasm or willingness; to lack motivation.
    • Near-synonyms: run on fumes, run out of steam

Questions about running on empty

What is running on empty the present participle and gerund of?
Running on empty is the present participle and gerund of run on empty.

Words near running on empty in the dictionary

  1. running off on
  2. running off one's mouth
  3. running off the tongue
  4. running off with
  5. running on
  6. running on empty
  7. running on fumes
  8. running one on
  9. running one's face
  10. running one's mouth
  11. running one's mouth off

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: running on empty (page history and authors); run on empty (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 on empty.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/running_on_empty. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.