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💧 To flow downward 🔎 To investigate 🔋 To use up 🏃 To chase and catch 🚗 To hit with vehicle 📋 To review quickly
to run down

to run down

15 3.2
To use up batteries, money or supplies until little remains
  • phrasal verb
  • /rʌn daʊn/
translation icon : agotarse
  • I will do these when I feel absolutely run down and need a break.
  • batteries run down
  • clock running down

Examples

  • However, throughout most of the training, I was run down, lethargic, and had a pretty rough training cycle.

    Blog text (10)

  • - Why, you feeling run down?

    The Coolangatta Gold (1984)

  • Because humanity has long since run down the clock on climate change.

  • So, take the rest of your nap now so you don't get too run down.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • I'm all run down.

    The Great Gatsby (2013)

  • My battery's running down.

    Squeeze Play (1979)

  • After a long hike, my energy began to run down quickly, and I needed to rest.

  • The phone's battery will run down if you keep using the GPS for hours.

  • As the storm continued, our food supply started to run down, making us worry about survival.

Synonyms

to run out
vsto run down
937 1.9

Use all of something so none is left

can mean gradual loss of energy or resources, not only a final empty state
to run out of
vsto run down
646 1.9

Have no more of something because you used it all

can focus more on losing power or energy slowly rather than instant absence
to drain
vsto run down
189 3.4

To slowly use up energy, money, or other resources

includes the same gradual loss but highlights final near emptiness
to use up
vsto run down
69 2.7

To finish all of something so nothing is left

also covers gradual loss of energy or power, not only total consumption
to exhaust
vsto run down
68 3.7

To use up all of a supply or resource

emphasizes losing energy or power over time rather than only using up supplies
to run low
vsto run down
31 2.5

To have only a small amount left

describes the full process of losing energy or resources down to low levels
to wear down
vsto run down
27 4.1

Slowly make a person or thing weaker by repeated pressure

covers both wearing down and the actual loss of energy or resources
to tire
vsto run down
23 1.0

To become very tired or make someone very tired

also applies to loss of power or material resources, not just people
to run through
vsto run down
16 4.4

Use up money or supplies quickly and wastefully

focuses more generally on losing energy or power, not on speed or waste
to sap
vsto run down
14 5.6

To slowly make someone or something weaker

adds the idea of resources or power being used up until little remains
to run short
vsto run down
14 3.7

To have very little of something left

describes reaching very low levels or complete exhaustion of energy or resources
to deplete
vsto run down
13 6.3

To use up almost all of something so little is left

stresses loss of energy or power as well as resource use
to run dry
vsto run down
10 4.2

To use up something so none is left, for example ideas

adds the idea of losing energy or power as well as supplies
to play out
vsto run down
8 5.4

To become used up so nothing is left

is used more broadly for loss of energy, power, or resources
to poop out
vsto run down
  • Informal
1 8.4

To become very tired or stop working

is the neutral description of losing energy, power, or resources

Antonyms

to conserve
63 3.4

Protect something from harm or waste by using it carefully

to replenish
43 4.3

Fill something again after it has been used up

How Charged

decay
  • Specialized
3 4.6
to run down
15 3.2
to die
498 4.6

Surface Forms

run down infinitive
ran down past
run down past participle
running down present participle
runs down third person singular

Morphology

run + down

The idea of causing something to be brought down by movement is derivable from 'run' (movement) + 'down' (to bring down), so learners could partly infer a physical knocking-down sense. However, the specific sense involving striking and passing over with a vehicle (akin to 'run over') is a more specific usage that is not fully predictable from the parts and may require prior exposure, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Run down comes from the image of a machine or battery that 'runs' and then goes 'down' as its power is used up, like a clock that stops when it has no energy left. That's why it means 'to use up' energy, power, or resources.