variants
also chiefly dialectal run
1
as in trotted
to go at a pace faster than a walk
we ran all the way to the bus stop, but still missed the bus
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in retreated
to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening
rather than run from a black bear, it's better to hold your ground and make lots of noise
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
4
5
as in flowed
to move in a stream
water running down the window
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in travelled
to proceed or move quickly
run and get the nurse
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
7
8
9
10
as in turned
to eventually have as a state or quality
the poor woman ran herself ragged trying to care for all those children
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
11
as in melted
to go from a solid to a liquid state
her makeup started to run when she got in the pool
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
12
as in managed
to look after and make decisions about
learning to run the family business
Synonyms & Similar Words
13
as in powered
to cause to function
in olden days mills were run by flowing water
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
14
as in cost
to have a price of
that sort of computer runs at least several hundred dollars
Synonyms & Similar Words
15
as in traveled
to come or be together as friends
he's been running with a bad crowd lately
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
16
as in chased
to go after or on the track of
if that dog continues to run cars, he's going to get seriously hurt
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of ran
The video, released Thursday night, showed a person running across a rooftop of the building from which the fatal round was fired before climbing down and dropping to the ground.
—
Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 13 Sep. 2025
Pittman noted the Rebels didn’t run their offense at their standard lightning pace for much of the game and did a lot of looks to the sidelines for late play adjustments.
—Tom Murphy, Arkansas Online, 12 Sep. 2025
Rose is giving up the House seat in the 2026 election cycle to run for Tennessee governor.
—David Mark, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
In Animal Crossing, Tom Nook runs the town shop and provides home loans (paid out in bells, the in-game currency) that keep players perpetually in debt, which is a core mechanic of the game.
—ArsTechnica, 12 Sep. 2025
Hand, a Republican who's also running for judge executive, offered prayers to Kirk and his family.
—Jolene Almendarez, The Enquirer, 12 Sep. 2025
Maksim’s brother, Val Chmerkovskiy, and his wife, Jenna Johnson, are both long-running DWTS pros and winners, and will appear on the upcoming 34th season.
—Mckinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 12 Sep. 2025
In other good competition news, Molly Odintz’s old high school pal Jimmy Talarico is running for Texas Senate, on a workers’ rights platform.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 12 Sep. 2025
This is the new 'disruptor' culture seen in the tech industry where people want to just run fast and break things.
—Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025
Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 13 Sep. 2025
Pittman noted the Rebels didn’t run their offense at their standard lightning pace for much of the game and did a lot of looks to the sidelines for late play adjustments.
—Tom Murphy, Arkansas Online, 12 Sep. 2025
Rose is giving up the House seat in the 2026 election cycle to run for Tennessee governor.
—David Mark, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
In Animal Crossing, Tom Nook runs the town shop and provides home loans (paid out in bells, the in-game currency) that keep players perpetually in debt, which is a core mechanic of the game.
—ArsTechnica, 12 Sep. 2025
Hand, a Republican who's also running for judge executive, offered prayers to Kirk and his family.
—Jolene Almendarez, The Enquirer, 12 Sep. 2025
Maksim’s brother, Val Chmerkovskiy, and his wife, Jenna Johnson, are both long-running DWTS pros and winners, and will appear on the upcoming 34th season.
—Mckinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 12 Sep. 2025
In other good competition news, Molly Odintz’s old high school pal Jimmy Talarico is running for Texas Senate, on a workers’ rights platform.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 12 Sep. 2025
This is the new 'disruptor' culture seen in the tech industry where people want to just run fast and break things.
—Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ran
Verb
-
The final segment, reserved for special teams, gave much of the roster a breather, helmets off and tucked in hands, but then a 35-year-old tight end trotted to an empty neighboring field.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Agustin Ramirez opened the seventh for Miami with a single off Tyler Rogers (4-5), moved to second on a groundout by Heriberto Hernandez, took third on Eric Wagaman’s single, and trotted home on Norby’s flyout to Soto for a 9-8 Miami lead.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
31 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Gerson believes the gangs have retreated.—
Johnny Fils-Aimé,
Miami Herald,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Runner-up Sabalenka, meanwhile, retreated to another area, smashed her racket until the frame buckled and sat with her back against the wall, next to the scratch marks left on the floor.—
Issy Ronald,
CNN Money,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
That new equalized funding formula went into effect after a three-year transition period in 2024, when 44 groups each got $9,269, according to the three-year awards report.—
Claudia Levens,
jsonline.com,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Following in the menswear trend of the night, Lenny Kravitz went sans shirt at the MTV VMAs.—
Catherine Santino,
PEOPLE,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The data ranged across core business functions — sales, marketing, engineering, recruiting/HR, operations, design, finance and legal — with the 50% decline consistent across the board.—
Trevor Laurence Jockims,
CNBC,
7 Sep. 2025
-
The five members — Montesi, Dressler, fiddlers Maggie MacPhail and Julia Homa, and cellist/pianist Giulia Haible — originally met at the Boston Harbor Scottish Fiddle School ten years ago; at the time their ages ranged from 7 to 11.—
Brett Milano,
Boston Herald,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Gas flow also affects stellar initial masses In another study, published in July 2025, astrophysicist Ke-Jung Chen led a research group at the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics using a detailed computer simulation that modeled how gas in the early universe may have flowed.—
Luke Keller,
Space.com,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Waterfalls of tequila flowed from enough bottles to lose count, including those in Aguayo’s group.—
Evan Webeck,
Mercury News,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Southern and Western states tended to see the biggest increase in working hours, while parts of the Northeast and Midwest showed slower growth or even decreases.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Cahall stressed that entertainment studios have tended to consolidate over time and that is likely to continue.—
Lisa Kailai Han,
CNBC,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Isn’t the same belief what drove Laura to speak to them?—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Judge drove a full-count splitter from Casey Mize to right-center field, giving New York a 1-0 lead.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Butler's sister-in-law baked a beautiful red velvet cake and a close friend handled music, hair and more.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
-
The visiting bench complained that Barca’s Kika Nazareth had handled the ball, but the referee dismissed their appeal.—
Laia Cervelló Herrero,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ran.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ran. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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