Word.ws English Dictionary

runs the rule over

runs the rule over is the third-person singular simple present indicative of run the rule over.

Meaning of run the rule over

Verb

run the rule over (third-person singular simple present runs the rule over, present participle running the rule over, simple past ran the rule over, past participle run the rule over)

  1. (idiomatic, transitive) To examine carefully and thoroughly.
    • The doctor found his patient propped up on a doorstep. Having, as he expressed it afterwards, "run the rule over him," he prescribed a glass of water and an hour's rest. The man was shaken, that was all.1923, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], “(please specify the page)”, in The Eyes of Max Carrados, London: Grant Richards, →OCLC

Questions about runs the rule over

What is runs the rule over the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Runs the rule over is the third-person singular simple present indicative of run the rule over.

Words near runs the rule over in the dictionary

  1. runs the gamut
  2. runs the gantlope
  3. runs the gauntlet
  4. runs the gauntlope
  5. runs the risk
  6. runs the rule over
  7. runs the show
  8. runs the table
  9. runs the whole show
  10. runs thin
  11. runs through

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: runs the rule over (page history and authors); run the rule over (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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