run up
"run-up" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“run up” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To run (towards someone or something); to hasten to a destination.
Corpus desk
Index EN-run-up · run up · English
run up · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "R" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | run up |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “run up” in English
Rare enough to double-check
run up is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 14 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for run up, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct English form is run up, spelled R-U-N- -U-P.
Definition
- 1To run (towards someone or something); to hasten to a destination.
- 2To approach (an event or point in time).
- 3To take to a destination or before an authority.
- 4To erect hastily, as a building.
- 5To make something, usually an item of clothing, very quickly.
- 6To bring (a flag) to the top of its flag pole.
- 7To string up; to hang.
- 8Of a bowler, to run, or walk up to the bowling crease in order to bowl a ball.
- 9To rise; to swell; to grow; to increase.
- 10To accumulate (a debt).
- 11To thrust up, as anything long and slender.
- 12To warm up and test an airplane before a flight.
- 13To accumulate money, drugs, etc.
- 14Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see run, up.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how run up appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
As I was walking along the road, a man suddenly ran up to me.
The dog ran up under the table to get his food.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.