to run off someone's feet

7.1

To make someone very busy and tired with too much work

idiom

: agotar a alguien

The waiters were run off their feet during the lunch rush at the restaurant.

Examples

She's been run off her feet organizing the conference this week.
With all the last-minute orders, we were run off our feet yesterday.
The students were run off their feet preparing for the final exams all week.
After the unexpected storm, the volunteers were run off their feet helping the community.
She was run off her feet by all the meetings scheduled for today.

Synonyms

to exhaust

vsto run off someone's feet

194 3.2

To make someone very tired

adds the idea that too much activity or work causes that depletion

to overwhelm

vsto run off someone's feet

88 3.9

Give someone too much work or problems so they cannot cope

adds physical tiredness from too much activity to that sense of overload

to wear out

vsto run off someone's feet

19 2.7

To make a person very tired or a thing stop working by using it too much

is more about sudden overload from many tasks rather than long use

to overwork

vsto run off someone's feet

15 4.1

To make someone work too much so they become very tired or ill

is about immediate overload from too much activity rather than chronic harm

to tire out

vsto run off someone's feet

10 2.1

To make a person very tired by using up their energy

stresses causing overload from excessive tasks rather than just long effort

to tucker

vsto run off someone's feet

Informal

8 9.4

To make someone very tired

is the neutral expression for overwhelming by too much activity

to tucker out

vsto run off someone's feet

Informal

7 7.7

To make someone very tired

is the same idea but emphasizes being overwhelmed by many tasks

to run (someone) ragged

vsto run off someone's feet

Informal

5 7.5

Make someone very tired by giving them too much work

is broader, stressing overload from many activities rather than only demands

to overtire

vsto run off someone's feet

3 6.8

To make someone very tired by doing too much

highlights overload from many activities rather than only exertion or rest

to run ragged

vsto run off someone's feet

Informal

2 6.3

To make someone very tired by giving them too much to do

focuses on overwhelming by general excess activity not just assigned duties

to work into the ground

vsto run off someone's feet

Informal

1 5.4

Make someone very tired by giving them too much to do

means causing exhaustion by too much activity rather than only hard work

to overdrive

vsto run off someone's feet

1 6.3

To make someone work too hard until they are tired

is similar but emphasizes overload from many tasks rather than limit pushing

to overstress

vsto run off someone's feet

1 4.4

To put too much strain on the body or mind

narrowly stresses being overloaded by many tasks or busy activity

to frazzle

vsto run off someone's feet

Informal

1 6.7

To make someone very tired or stressed

focuses more on heavy activity overload rather than emotional stress specifically

to overtired

vsto run off someone's feet

3.5

To make someone very sleepy from too much activity

focuses on the act of overwhelming by too much activity rather than result

to overfatigue

vsto run off someone's feet

8.4

To make someone very tired so they cannot work or think well

is about giving too many tasks that overwhelm capacity rather than just fatigue

to swamp someone with tasks

vsto run off someone's feet

Informal

6.3

To give someone more work than they can do

covers the same overload but with emphasis on general busy activity

to overstrain

vsto run off someone's feet

6.5

To push yourself or something too hard so it breaks and you become very tired

is focused on overwhelming through many activities rather than causing physical harm

to push into overdrive

vsto run off someone's feet

6.1

To work much harder and faster to get something done

means overloading someone by too much activity rather than just speeding work

Antonyms

to relax

∞ 1.0

To feel less nervous and more calm

to refresh

50 2.8

Make someone or something feel full of energy and less tired

How Busy

to wear out

19 2.7

to run off someone's feet

7.1

to burden

77 3.7

to occupy

99 3.5

Surface Forms

run off someone's feet infinitive

ran off someone's feet past

run off someone's feet past participle

running off someone's feet present participle

runs off someone's feet third person singular

Morphology

run + off + someone's + foot

The constituents 'run' and 'feet' evoke physical activity, so a learner who knows the words could plausibly infer a sense of being very active or physically worn out. However, the particle 'off' plus the possessive construction yields a conventionalized metaphor meaning 'overwhelmed or exhausted by work' that is not fully predictable from the parts and varies cross-linguistically, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

The idiom run off someone's feet gives the picture of a person who must run so much their feet have no time to rest and they become very tired. So, it means 'to exhaust' or 'make someone very busy'.