Word.ws English Dictionary

runs like a dry creek

runs like a dry creek is the third-person singular simple present indicative 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 runs like a dry creek

What is runs like a dry creek the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Runs like a dry creek is the third-person singular simple present indicative of run like a dry creek.

Words near runs like a dry creek in the dictionary

  1. runs into a brick wall
  2. runs into one
  3. runs into the ground
  4. runs it up
  5. runs late
  6. runs like a dry creek
  7. runs like a top
  8. runs lines
  9. runs low
  10. runs mad
  11. runs nowhere

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: runs 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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