run
Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.
Letters
3 characters
Language
English
word origin
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Detailed reference entry for the English word "run", 3-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "run" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "run" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.
run is aEnglishverb. It means: To move swiftly. Pronounced /ɹʌn/. It ranks #309 in English word frequency. Often confused with RV and RW.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | run |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ɹʌn/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #309 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency rank visualization
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for run is 3 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɹʌn/. Corpus data places it at rank #309 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language.Wiktionary records 63 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No frequent misspelling variants are recorded for run in our index, suggesting the orthography either follows predictable English patterns or the word is uncommon enough that typo corpora lack signal.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "RV", "RW", "rye", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English runnen, rennen (“to run”), alteration (due to the past participle runne, runnen, yronne) of Middle English rinnen (“to run”), from Old English rinnan, iernan (“to run”) and Old Norse rinna (“to run”), both from Proto-Germanic *rinnaną (“… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is run, spelled R-U-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Definition
- 1To move swiftly.
- 2To move swiftly.
- 3To move swiftly.
- 4To move swiftly.
- 5To move swiftly.
- 6To move swiftly.
- 7To move swiftly.
- 8To move swiftly.
- 9To move swiftly.
- 10To move swiftly.
- 11To move swiftly.
- 12To move swiftly.
- 13To move swiftly.
- 14To move swiftly.
- 15To move swiftly.
- 16To move swiftly.
- 17To flow.
- 18To flow.
- 19To flow.
- 20To flow.
- 21To flow.
- 22To flow.
- 23To flow.
- 24To sail before the wind, in distinction from reaching or sailing close-hauled.
- 25To control or manage; to be in charge of.
- 26To be a candidate in an election.
- 27To make participate in certain kinds of competitions.
- 28To make participate in certain kinds of competitions.
- 29To exert continuous activity; to proceed.
- 30To be presented in the media.
- 31To print or broadcast in the media.
- 32To smuggle (illegal goods).
- 33To sort through a large volume of produce in quality control.
- 34To extend or persist, statically or dynamically, through space or time.
- 35To extend or persist, statically or dynamically, through space or time.
- 36To extend or persist, statically or dynamically, through space or time.
- 37To extend or persist, statically or dynamically, through space or time.
- 38To extend or persist, statically or dynamically, through space or time.
- 39To execute or carry out a plan, procedure, or program.
- 40To pass or go quickly in thought or conversation.
- 41To become different in a way mentioned (usually to become worse).
- 42To cost an amount of money.
- 43Of stitches or stitched clothing, to unravel.
- 44To cause stitched clothing to unravel.
- 45To pursue in thought; to carry in contemplation.
- 46To cause to enter; to thrust.
- 47To drive or force; to cause, or permit, to be driven.
- 48To cause to be drawn; to mark out; to indicate; to determine.
- 49To encounter or incur (a danger or risk).
- 50To put at hazard; to venture; to risk.
- 51To tease with sarcasms and ridicule.
- 52To sew (a seam) by passing the needle through material in a continuous line, generally taking a series of stitches on the needle at the same time.
- 53To control or have precedence in a card game.
- 54To be in form thus, as a combination of words.
- 55To be popularly known; to be generally received.
- 56To have growth or development.
- 57To tend, as to an effect or consequence; to incline.
- 58To have a legal course; to be attached; to continue in force, effect, or operation; to follow; to go in company.
- 59To encounter or suffer (a particular, usually bad, fate or misfortune).
- 60To strike (the ball) in such a way as to cause it to run along the ground, as when approaching a hole.
- 61To speedrun.
- 62To eject from a game or match.
- 63To press (a bank, etc.) with immediate demands for payment.
Etymology
From Middle English runnen, rennen (“to run”), alteration (due to the past participle runne, runnen, yronne) of Middle English rinnen (“to run”), from Old English rinnan, iernan (“to run”) and Old Norse rinna (“to run”), both from Proto-Germanic *rinnaną (“to run”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reyH- (“to boil, churn”). Cognate with Scots rin (“to run”), West Frisian rinne (“to walk, march”), archaic Dutch rinnen (“to flow”, still in geronnen), German rinnen (“to flow”), Swedish rinna (“to flow”), and Icelandic renna (“to flow”). From the causative Proto-Germanic *rannijaną (“to make run”) are Dutch rennen, German rennen, Danish rende, Swedish ränna (all “to run”). Non-Germanic cognates include Albanian rend (“to run, run after”). See also random.
This word in other languages
Frequency rank: #309 in English
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Nearby English words
Other entries that begin with the letter R in our English index: