take a run at
"take-a-run-at" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“take a run at” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To attempt to achieve or acquire.
Corpus desk
Index EN-take-a-run-at · take a run at · English
take a run at · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 13 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "T" 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 | take a run at |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “take a run at” in English
Rare enough to double-check
take a run at is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
take a run at has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is take a run at, spelled T-A-K-E- -A- -R-U-N- -A-T.
Definition
- 1To attempt to achieve or acquire.
- 2To attack or challenge or to try to attack or challenge.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how take a run at appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
"No one else has achieved the right knit of polyester Dacron fibers—lots of mills have taken a run at it."
Cisco Chief Executive Officer John Chambers has scarcely hid the fact that his company is actively eyeing a number of acquisitions. At a luncheon in Toronto he felt compelled to deny recent speculation that Cisco would take a run at Canada's Nortel Networks.
Synonyms
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.