Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage
1

on foot

[countable] a period of time spent running, or a distance that you run [↪ jog, sprint]:
a five-mile run
She usually goes for a run before breakfast.
He was still following me, and in a panic I broke into a run.
at a run
Sarah left the house at a run.
2

in the long run

later in the future, not immediately [↪ long-term]:
Moving to Spain will be better for you in the long run.
3

in the short run

in the near future [↪ short-term]:
Sufficient supply, in the short run, will be a problem.
4

the usual/normal/general run of something

the usual type of something:
The place was very different from the normal run of street cafes.
5

series

[countable usually singular] a series of successes or failures [↪ string, streak]:
an unbeaten run of 19 games
run of good/bad luck
Losing my job was the start of a run of bad luck that year.
a run of defeats/victories etc
His extraordinary run of successes has been stopped.
6

amount produced

[countable] an amount of a product produced at one time:
a limited run of 200 copies
7

be on the run

a) SCC to be trying to escape or hide, especially from the police
be on the run from
wanted criminals on the run from police
b) if an army or opponent is on the run, they will soon be defeated
c) to be very busy and continuously rushing about:
Typical of stress is this feeling of being continuously on the run.
8

do something on the run

to do something while you are on your way somewhere or doing something else:
I always seem to eat on the run these days.
9

make a run for it

to suddenly start running, in order to escape
10

the run of something

if you have the run of a place, you are allowed to go anywhere and do anything in it:
We had the run of the house for the afternoon.
11

a run on something

a) a situation in which lots of people suddenly buy a particular product [↪ rush]:
There's always a run on roses before Valentine's Day.
b)

a run on the dollar/pound etc

a situation in which lots of people sell dollars etc and the value goes down
c)

a run on the bank

an occasion when a lot of people take their money out of a bank at the same time
12

give somebody a (good) run for their money

to make your opponent in a competition use all their skill and effort to defeat you:
They've given some of the top teams a run for their money this season.
13

have a (good) run for your money

informal to succeed in doing something successfully for a long time:
Investors have also had a good run for their money.
14

illness

the runs

informalMI diarrhoea
15

play/film

[countable]APTAMF a continuous series of performances of a play, film etc in the same place:
His first play had a three-month run in the West End.
16

journey

[singular]
a) TT a journey by train, ship, truck etc made regularly between two places:
It's only a 55-minute run from London to Brighton.
the daily school run (=the journey that parents make each day taking their children to and from school) British English
b) informalTTC a short journey in a car, for pleasure:
Let's take the car out for a run.
17

for animals

[countable]TA an enclosed area where animals such as chickens or rabbits are kept:
a chicken run
18

sport

[countable]DSBDSC a point won in cricket or baseball:
Jones made 32 runs this afternoon.
19

winter sports

[countable]DSO a special area or track on a mountain for people to ski or sledge down:
a ski run
20

election

[countable usually singular] American English an attempt to be elected to an important position
run for
He is preparing a run for the presidency.
21

in clothes

[countable] American EnglishDCC a line of torn stitches in tights or stockings [= ladder British English]
22

music

[countable]APM a set of notes played or sung quickly up or down a scale in a piece of music
23

card games

[countable]DGC a set of cards with numbers in a series, held by one player
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
 
Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

ADVERTISING AND MARKETINGANIMALSBANKING
BIOLOGYBUSINESS BASICSCOMPUTERS
CLOTHESDAILY LIFEEDUCATION
FINANCEFOODGRAMMAR
HAIR AND BEAUTYHUMANLAW
MUSICNATURESPORT
STOCKS AND SHARESTECHNOLOGYTRADE