Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - running

Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. Running is the activity of moving fast on foot, especially as a sport. We chose to do cross-country running. ...running shoes. N-UNCOUNT 2. The running of something such as a business is the managing or organizing of it. ...the committee in charge of the day-to-day running of the party. N-SING: the N of n 3. You use running to describe things that continue or keep occurring over a period of time. He also began a running feud with Dean Acheson... = ongoing ADJ: ADJ n 4. A running total is a total which changes because numbers keep being added to it as something progresses. He kept a running tally of who had called him, who had visited, who had sent flowers... ADJ: ADJ n 5. You can use running when indicating that something keeps happening. For example, if something has happened every day for three days, you can say that it has happened for the third day running or for three days running. He said drought had led to severe crop failure for the second year running... ADV: n ADV 6. Running water is water that is flowing rather than standing still. The forest was filled with the sound of running water... ADJ: ADJ n 7. If a house has running water, water is supplied to the house through pipes and taps. ...a house without electricity or running water in a tiny African village. ADJ: ADJ n 8. If someone is in the running for something, they have a good chance of winning or obtaining it. If they are out of the running for something, they have no chance of winning or obtaining it. Until this week he appeared to have ruled himself out of the running because of his age. PHRASE 9. If someone is making the running in a situation, they are more active than the other people involved. (mainly BRIT) Republicans are furious that the Democrats currently seem to be making all the running. PHRASE: V inflects 10. If something such as a system or place is up and running, it is operating normally. We’re trying to get the medical facilities up and running again. PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v