1
: a final race, contest, or election to decide an earlier one that has not resulted in a decision in favor of any one competitor
2
: the portion of precipitation on land that ultimately reaches streams often with dissolved or suspended material
ran off; run off; running off; runs off
1
a
: to recite, compose, or produce rapidly
b
: to cause to be run or played to a finish
c
: to decide (a race) by a runoff
d
2
: to drain off : draw off
3
a
: to drive off (someone, such as a trespasser)
b
: to steal (animals, such as cattle) by driving away
see also run off with
Examples of runoff in a Sentence
Verb
the dog often ran off cats and other animals that had intruded upon his owner's property
their rebellious daughter's run off because she was disciplined again
Recent Examples on the Web
Selina Wang, ABC News, 27 Oct. 2025
Tripping and false start calls stacked up, and the biggest was Zollers’ intentional grounding that included a 10-second runoff.
—Maddie Hartley, Kansas City Star, 26 Oct. 2025
Arkansas Online, 25 Oct. 2025
The thriller, which is now streaming on Netflix, sees Abby put herself in real danger (such as almost being run off the road).
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for runoff
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Noun
During a runoff in an intraparty vote by the LDP, Takaichi won 185 votes, beating Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who received 156 votes.
—Selina Wang, ABC News, 27 Oct. 2025
Tripping and false start calls stacked up, and the biggest was Zollers’ intentional grounding that included a 10-second runoff.
—Maddie Hartley, Kansas City Star, 26 Oct. 2025
Verb
Birdie runs First-round leader Steven Alker ran off six consecutive birdies on the back nine Friday which jettisoned him up the leaderboard to a tournament-record 61.
—Arkansas Online, 25 Oct. 2025
The thriller, which is now streaming on Netflix, sees Abby put herself in real danger (such as almost being run off the road).
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for runoff
Cite this Entry
“Runoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/runoff. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
runoff
1 of 2 noun
run·off
ˈrən-ˌȯf 
1
: a final contest or election to decide an earlier one that has not given the victory to one competitor
2
: water from rain or snow that flows over the surface of the ground and finally into streams
run off
2 of 2 verbˈrən-ˈȯf,
ˌrən-
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