A runner is a person who runs, especially for sport or pleasure.
...a marathon runner.
I am a very keen runner and am out training most days.
Synonyms: athlete, miler, sprinter, harrier More Synonyms of runner
2. countable noun
The runners in a horse race are the horses taking part.
There are 18 runners in the top race of the day.
3. countable noun [noun NOUN]
A drug runner or gun runner is someone who illegally takes drugs or guns into a country.
4. countable noun
Someone who is a runner for a particular person or company is employed to take messages, collect money, or do other small tasks for them.
...a bookie's runner.
Synonyms: messenger, courier, errand boy [old-fashioned], dispatch bearer More Synonyms of runner
5. countable noun [usually plural]
Runners are thin strips of wood or metal underneath something which help it to move smoothly.
...the runners of his sled. [+ of]
6. countable noun [usually plural]
On a plant, runners are long shoots that grow from the main stem and put down roots to form a new plant.
...strawberry runners.
7. countable noun
A runner is a long narrow mat that is put on a piece of furniture or on the floor.
8.
See do a runner
More Synonyms of runner
runner in British English
(ˈrʌnə)
noun
1.
a person who runs, esp an athlete
2.
a messenger for a bank or brokerage firm
3.
an employee of an art or antique dealer who visits auctions to bid on desired lots
4.
a person engaged in the solicitation of business
5.
a person on the run; fugitive
6.
a.
a person or vessel engaged in smuggling; smuggler
b.
(in combination)
a rum-runner
7.
a person who operates, manages, or controls something
8.
a.
either of the strips of metal or wood on which a sledge runs
b.
the blade of an ice skate
9.
a roller or guide for a sliding component
10.
a channel through which molten material enters a casting or moulding
11.
the rotating element of a water turbine
12. another name for running belay
13.
any of various carangid fishes of temperate and tropical seas, such as Caranx crysos (blue runner) of American Atlantic waters
14. botany
a.
a slender stem with very long internodes, as of the strawberry, that arches down to the ground and propagates by producing roots and shoots at the nodes or tip
b.
a plant that propagates in this way
15.
a strip of lace, linen, etc, placed across a table, dressing table, etc, for protection and decoration
16.
a narrow rug or carpet, as for a passage
17. another word for rocker (sense 3)
18. do a runner
runner in American English
(ˈrʌnər)
noun
1.
a person, animal, or thing that runs
; specif.,
a.
a racer
b. US, Baseball
base runner
c. US, American Football
a player running with the ball
2.
a person who runs errands, carries messages, etc., as for a bank or brokerage house
3.
a smuggler
4.
a person who operates or manages something, as a machine
5.
a.
a long, narrow, decorative cloth for the top of a table, chest of drawers, etc.
b.
a long, narrow rug, as for a hall or corridor
6.
a long ravel, as in hose; run
7.
a.
a long, slender, horizontal trailing stem that puts out roots along or just below the ground at its tip or its nodes,thus producing new plants; stolon
b.
any plant that spreads in this way, as the strawberry
8.
any of various twining plants
the scarlet runner
9.
something on or in which something else moves, as a sliding part in machinery or the support along which a sliding door moves
10. US
either of the long, narrow pieces of metal or wood on which a sled or sleigh slides
11. US
the blade of a skate
12.
a ring, loop, etc. that can slide along a strap, rod, etc., often one to which another part or parts can be attached
13. Metallurgy
a channel through which molten metal is poured into a mold; gate
14. Zoology
any of various edible jack fishes of warm seas, as a bluish species (Caranx crysos) and a striped bluish species (Elagatis bipinnulata)
Word origin
ME renner
runner in Mechanical Engineering
(rʌnər)
Word forms: (regular plural) runners
noun
(Mechanical engineering: Manufacturing and assembly)
A runner is a channel through which molten material flows into a casting mold.
During casting, molten metal flows along runners to different points in the mold cavity.
Molten metal is poured into the casting through a runner, displacing air which escapes through a riser.
A runner is a channel through which molten material flows into a casting mold.
Examples of 'runner' in a sentence
runner
This is one shoe which will appeal to both serious athletes and casual runners.
The Sun (2012)
We use it as a table runner and tie strips into bows for the tree.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
But we did have four runners that day and they all ran poorly.
The Sun (2015)
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run but only one gets the prize?
Christianity Today (2000)
It is a marathon running term for the point in the race when a runner meets an almost insurmountable physical barrier.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
There was a little bit of owner pressure just to have a runner on Derby day.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Equally, it could have been the film company runner he might have inadvertently upset by being too terse.
The Sun (2011)
In races containing few runners with real chances, this is a more potent loophole than it may first appear.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Fastest runner in the company.
Iain Gale Man of Honour (2007)
The strawberry runners should be planted out by mid August and this means that they could follow a row of early potatoes.
Kitto, Dick Planning the Organic Vegetable Garden (1986)
The collection includes two rugs and two runners C& first for the company).
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
It was a cracking day with 30 runners of all descriptions tackling 23 fences.
The Sun (2008)
Let's all pray for a great race with 40 runners.
The Sun (2013)
At Windsor there were 38 runners for six races.
The Sun (2013)
Word lists with
runner
terms used in botany, Types of fish
In other languages
runner
British English: runner /ˈrʌnə/ NOUN
A runner is a person who runs, especially for sport or pleasure.
...a marathon runner.
American English: runner
Arabic: عَدَّاء
Brazilian Portuguese: corredor
Chinese: 奔跑者
Croatian: trkač
Czech: běžec
Danish: løber
Dutch: hardloper
European Spanish: corredor
Finnish: juoksija
French: coureur
German: Läufer
Greek: δρομέας
Italian: corridore
Japanese: ランナー
Korean: 경주자
Norwegian: løper
Polish: biegacz
European Portuguese: corredor
Romanian: alergător
Russian: бегун
Latin American Spanish: corredor atleta
Swedish: löpare
Thai: นักวิ่ง
Turkish: koşucu
Ukrainian: бігун
Vietnamese: người chạy
All related terms of 'runner'
runner-up
A runner-up is someone who has finished in second place in a race or competition.
base runner
any member of the team at bat who has reached first, second , or third base safely or is trying to reach a base or home plate
blue runner
a carangid fish of American Atlantic waters , Caranx crysos
drug runner
a person that illegally takes recreational drugs into a country
gun-runner
A gun-runner is someone who takes or sends guns into a country secretly and illegally.
runner bean
Runner beans are long green beans that are eaten as a vegetable . They grow on a tall climbing plant and are the cases that contain the seeds of the plant.
tree runner
any of various small generally black-and-white birds of the genus Neositta, having a straight sharp beak and strong claws used to run up trees in search of insects: family Sittidae ( nuthatches )
front runner
In a competition or contest , the front-runner is the person who seems most likely to win it.
pinch runner
a player sent into a game to replace a base runner
relay runner
a person who runs in a relay race
table runner
a long strip of cloth that is put down the middle of the table , lengthways , to decorate it and to protect the surface from dishes , etc.
blockade runner
a person, ship etc that tries to carry goods through a blockade
distance runner
a participant in distance races or running
do a runner
If someone does a runner , they leave a place in a hurry , for example in order to escape arrest or to avoid paying for something.
marathon runner
a person who runs in a marathon
scarlet runner
a climbing perennial bean plant, Phaseolus multiflorus (or P . coccineus ), of tropical America, having scarlet flowers: widely cultivated for its long green edible pods containing edible seeds
Bow Street runner
(in Britain from 1749 to 1829) an officer at Bow Street magistrates ' court, London, whose duty was to pursue and arrest criminals
scarlet runner bean
a climbing perennial bean plant, Phaseolus multiflorus (or P . coccineus ), of tropical America, having scarlet flowers: widely cultivated for its long green edible pods containing edible seeds
scarlet runner (bean)
a climbing bean plant ( Phaseolus coccineus ) of tropical America, having pods with large, edible, red-and-black seeds and usually having scarlet flowers: often grown in cold climates as an ornamental
roadrunner
a terrestrial crested bird, Geococcyx californianus , of Central and S North America, having a streaked plumage and long tail : family Cuculidae ( cuckoos )
sitella
any of various small generally black-and-white birds of the genus Neositta, having a straight sharp beak and strong claws used to run up trees in search of insects: family Sittidae ( nuthatches )
middle-distance runner
someone who runs races of a length between the sprints and the distance events, esp the 800 metres and the 1500 metres
rat-running
the practice of driving through residential side streets to avoid congested main roads