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Phrasal Verbs  ›  RUN

RUN

10 essential phrasal verbs with RUN — meanings, examples & practice

run out of · run into · run away · run over · run through · run up · run off · run across · run down · run out on
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Separable Object can go in the middle or after: "run the plan over" or "run over the plan"
Inseparable Object always goes after the particle — never in the middle.
Intransitive No object needed — the verb stands alone.
Phrasal verbs with RUN
run out (of)Intransitive
To have no more of something; to use up the entire supply.
"We ran out of coffee this morning." / "Time is running out!"
run intoInseparable
To meet someone unexpectedly; to collide with something; to encounter a problem.
"I ran into my old professor at the mall." / "We ran into some technical problems."
run awayIntransitive
To flee; to escape from a place or situation; to avoid dealing with something.
"Don't run away from your problems — face them."
run overSeparable
To review something quickly; to exceed the allotted time; to hit someone with a vehicle.
"Let me run over the key points one more time before we start."
run throughSeparable
To practice or review something from start to finish; to use up quickly.
"She ran through her presentation twice before the meeting."
run upSeparable
To accumulate quickly (a bill, a debt, a score); to approach something rapidly.
"He ran up a huge phone bill while traveling abroad."
run offIntransitive
To leave quickly without warning; to print or copy multiple documents.
"She ran off without saying goodbye." / "Can you run off 30 copies of this flyer?"
run acrossInseparable
To find or meet someone or something by chance.
"I ran across some old photos while cleaning my room."
run downSeparable
To criticize harshly; to lose power (battery); to find or locate someone; to hit with a vehicle.
"Stop running down your colleagues — it's unprofessional." / "My battery has run down."
run out onInseparable
To abandon a person or a responsibility at the worst possible moment.
"He ran out on his business partner just when the company needed him most."
⚠️ "Run out" vs "Run out of" — a very common mistake!
✓ "We ran out." → Intransitive — no object needed.
✓ "We ran out of coffee." → "of" is required before the noun.
✗ "We ran out coffee." → WRONG — "of" cannot be omitted.
✗ "We ran out of." → WRONG — "of" must be followed by a noun.
Reading: A Chaotic Morning

📖 A Chaotic Morning

Valentina was an event coordinator in San José. On the morning of an important corporate event, everything seemed to go wrong at once.

She had barely arrived at her kitchen when she realized she had run out of coffee. No coffee meant a slow start. She switched to orange juice, grabbed her bag, and rushed to the office. On the highway, she ran into a traffic jam — and then, in the worst coincidence, ran into her boss walking out of a nearby café. "Big day today, Valentina," he said with a smile. She nodded and kept moving.

At the office, she ran through her event checklist: decorations, catering, sound system. But the sound technician had run off without leaving any contact information. Valentina called several suppliers, but her phone battery had begun to run down. She found a charger just in time.

While searching her desk drawers, she ran across a backup contract she thought she had lost — exactly what she needed. A small victory. At noon, the costs began to run up faster than expected. A colleague had run out on his responsibilities at the last minute, leaving Valentina to manage the extra vendors alone. She didn't let this run her down. She ran over the budget one final time, found savings in two areas, and solved the problem.

The event was a success. "Don't run away from a chaotic morning," she told a younger colleague afterward. "Just stay calm and keep going."

Reading comprehension — 10 questions