runner
NOUN · English
Experimental / limited support
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The corpus records 42 senses of runner. Each sense below has its own Add to list, so you choose the one you mean.
Display information
Experimental coverage — measured below Partial on the number of recorded words, definitions, translations, word forms and pronunciation. Treat entries as evidence to check; meanings may be incomplete.
English is Experimental in Words. Support is measured, not declared: a language reaches Partial only when every measure meets its threshold, and a measure that has not been taken does not count. The development corpus holds 60 source-backed words in English. What is shown may be incomplete, and pronunciation audio, generated forms and generated examples are not offered.
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Definition: A person who moves, on foot, at a fast pace, especially an athlete. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- The first runner to cross the finish line wins the race. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- Near-synonym: racer Usage example — not an attested quotation.
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Definition: Any entrant, person or animal (especially a horse), for a race or any competition; a candidate for an election. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- The mare is the stables' runner for the 5.15 race at Epsom. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- The judge said she would not be a runner in the upcoming elections. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
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Definition: A competitor in a poker tournament. From a source of medium confidence.
slang
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
No example is recorded for this sense.
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Definition: Somebody who controls or manages (e.g. a system). From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- […] at least half of which would be put into the pool for the winner, the rest kept for the runners of the system to cover costs and more than likely make a fair profit. 1998 June 12, Daniel Jonathan Kirk, “tipping competitions”, in aus.legal (Usenet):
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Definition: A person or vessel that runs blockades or engages in smuggling. From a source of medium confidence.
in-compounds
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- The gunrunners were arrested leaving the airport. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- The modus operandi used by the idol and antique runners is to order consignments of fakes. 1992, Hamendar Bhisham Pal, The Plunder of Art, page 75:
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Definition: A player who runs for a batsman who is too injured to run; he is dressed exactly as the injured batsman, and carries a bat. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
No example is recorded for this sense.
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Definition: A baserunner. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- The runner was out at second. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
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Definition: A person (from one or the other team) who runs out onto the field during the game to take verbal instructions from the coach to the players. A runner mustn't interfere with play, and may have to wear an identifying shirt to make clear his or her purpose on the field. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
No example is recorded for this sense.
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Definition: Anyone sent on an errand or with communications, especially for a bank (or, historically, a foot soldier responsible for carrying messages during war). From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- By 1963, Carmine was working as a "runner" for an accounting firm, and he would drop by 1619 Broadway to knock on doors in hopes of selling off some of his songs 1990, Wayne Jancik, The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders, →ISBN, page 242:
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Definition: A restaurant employee responsible for taking food from the kitchens to the tables. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- “Then you divide your army amongst the various houses where restorations are ordered for Jubilee day?” / “Certainly—say one waiter to ten guests—if it was a dinner we should send one waiter to six guests—with runners, of course.” / “Runners?” / “Omnibuses you call them here—young ones—apprentices—who wait on the waiters.” / “Run everywhere, do anything?” 1897 June 19, “The Jubilee Waiters. Some Words with the Maître d’Hôtel.”, in The Daily News, number 15,984, London, →OCLC, page 2, column 6:
- […] the chef can send a runner to see why not and if the waiter has forgotten about the order, a runner can cover and serve. 1989, Caterer & Hotelkeeper, volume 180, page 83:
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Definition: A trusty (prisoner granted special privileges). From a source of medium confidence.
US · dated
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- In our prisons you might find a condemned man working as a runner, a trusty, which is about as far from segregation as you can get. 1959, Frederick S. Baldi, My Unwelcome Guests, page 25:
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Definition: An employee of a sports agent who tries to recruit possible player clients for the agent. From a source of medium confidence.
slang
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- This week hundreds of NFL agents gathered to hear an honorable man talk about a noble pipedream. It was a discussion about a significant step to end one of the cornerstones of corruption in college football: runners. Not the backs getting their 40 times tested at the scouting combine but the slimeball trolls who work on behalf of agents to help recruit — a generous word — football prospects by illegally giving them cash (or cars or money for family members or rent for a nice house) so the player then signs with the agent upon turning pro. Usage example — not an attested quotation. Freeman, Mike (25 February 2012), “Runners' world: Union boss Smith's noble idea likely stuck at the start”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), CBSSports.com, retrieved 19 Mar 2014
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Definition: A person hired by a gambling establishment to locate potential customers and bring them in. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
No example is recorded for this sense.
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Definition: One who runs away; a deserter or escapee. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
No example is recorded for this sense.
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Definition: An assistant. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
No example is recorded for this sense.
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Definition: A quick escape away from a scene; (by extension) the person who gets away. From a source of medium confidence.
slang
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- He did a runner after robbing the drugstore. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- We were shocked, astonished, when the staff, when pushed, disclosed that they had had to cover runners the previous night. The runners used the scam of ‘smoking’ to go outside after eating and drinking champagne and top-notch wine … and kept walking. And who paid their bill? Staff! Disgusting. 2018 March 24, Loch Fyne, quotee, “True or false? 'If you do a runner, the waiter has to pay your bill'”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
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Definition: A type of soft-soled shoe originally intended for runners. From a source of medium confidence.
Australia · Canada · Ireland · Scotland
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- Tess stands by Mr Foley in runners that are bright yellow and exuberant and off-putting. 2023, Elaine Feeney, How to Build a Boat, Vintage (2024), page 167:
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Definition: Part of a shoe that is stitched to the bottom of the upper so it can be glued to the sole. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
No example is recorded for this sense.
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Definition: A part of an apparatus that moves quickly. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- After the cycle completes, the runner travels back quickly to be in place for the next cycle. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
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Definition: A smooth strip on which a sledge runs. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
No example is recorded for this sense.
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Definition: The blade of an ice skate. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
No example is recorded for this sense.
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Definition: The channel or strip on which a drawer is opened and closed. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
No example is recorded for this sense.
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Definition: Part of a mechanism which allows something to be pulled out for maintenance. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- Maintenance was simplified by making all components easily accessible and easy to remove: for example, the air compressors in the short nose slide out on runners. 1962 June, “Beyond the Channel: U.S.S.R.: A 3,000 h.p. diesel-hydraulic from MaK”, in Modern Railways, page 416:
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Definition: The curved base of a rocking chair. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
No example is recorded for this sense.
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Definition: In saddlery, a loop of metal through which a rein is passed. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
No example is recorded for this sense.
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Definition: In molding, a channel cut in a mold. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
No example is recorded for this sense.
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Definition: The rotating-stone of a grinding-mill. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
No example is recorded for this sense.
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Definition: The movable piece to which the ribs of an umbrella are attached. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
No example is recorded for this sense.
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Definition: A tool in which lenses are fastened for polishing. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
No example is recorded for this sense.
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Definition: An automobile; a working or driveable automobile. From a source of medium confidence.
slang
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- The car salesman told me that the used Volvo was a nice little runner. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
- Is that old Mercedes on the forecourt a runner? / No, it has no gearbox. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
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Definition: A strip of fabric used to decorate or protect a table or dressing table. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- The red runner makes the table so festive. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
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Definition: A long, narrow carpet for a high-traffic area such as a hall or stairs. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- Why don't we put down a clear runner in the front hall? Usage example — not an attested quotation.
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Definition: A part of a cigarette that is burning unevenly. From a source of medium confidence.
slang
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
No example is recorded for this sense.
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Definition: A long stolon sent out by a plant (such as strawberry), in order to root new plantlets, or a plant that propagates by using such runners. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
No example is recorded for this sense.
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Definition: A short sling with a carabiner on either end, used to link the climbing rope to a bolt or other protection such as a nut or friend. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
No example is recorded for this sense.
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Definition: A leaping food fish (Elagatis pinnulatis) of Florida and the West Indies; the skipjack, shoemaker, or yellowtail. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
No example is recorded for this sense.
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Definition: A rope to increase the power of a tackle. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
No example is recorded for this sense.
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Definition: A speedrunner. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
No example is recorded for this sense.
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Definition: An idea or plan that has potential to be adopted or put into operation. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- This idea isn't a runner. Let's not waste any more time on it. Usage example — not an attested quotation.
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Definition: A running gag. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- Don’t Look Up jabs around omnidirectionally, and some of the most gleefully ridiculous jokes land: There’s an inspired runner about an increasingly scandal-plagued Supreme Court nominee, for example, and another in which politicians and voters alike absurdly declare their allegiance to “the jobs the comet will bring.” 7 December 2021, Jesse Hassenger, “Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence cope with disaster in the despairing satire Don’t Look Up”, in AV Club:
- The fairy-tale promise of love and intimacy became a runner in Swift’s work as a songwriter, something she’d repeatedly espouse, then skewer; she was self-aware about the role narrative played in her expectations. 2023 December 6, Sam Lansky, “Person of Year 2023 : Taylor Swift”, in Time, archived from the original on 06 Dec 2023:
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Definition: A streamlet. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
- A runner, or streamlet, from other woods joined it at this end, and waited in the pool to pass through the grating to the mills. 1927, Henry Williamson, Tarka the Otter:
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Definition: A boat for transporting fish, oysters, etc. From a source of medium confidence.
No translation has been attempted for this sense.
No example is recorded for this sense.
No paradigm has been compiled for this word yet.
Etymology: From Middle English rennere, rynner, urnare, equivalent to run + -er. Cognate with Old Norse rennari (“runner; messenger”). Displaced earlier Middle English runel (“runner”), from Old English rynel (“runner”; also “messenger, courier”). ((botany) a long stolon sent by a plant): Compare typologically Russian побе́г (pobég) (akin to бежа́ть (bežátʹ)). From a source of medium confidence.
No related word is recorded for this word.