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Glite Dictionary
⛽ To use as fuel ⏳ To continue longer 🗣️ To talk too much
to run on

to run on

17 2.8
To keep going for longer than expected without stopping
  • phrasal verb
  • /rʌn ɑn/
: prolongarse
  • The United States was fighting the Soviets to the last Afghan in a confrontation that could run on indefinitely.
  • tests that were run on
  • run on its own

It was it it the whole scandal run run on for years and that took a toll.

Examples

  • Sorry we ran on a little long.

    Playing for Keeps (2012)

  • And why did they create bus timetables when they never ran on time?

    Mary and Max (2009)

  • History shows us it's the only way to make them run on time.

    Atlas Shrugged: Part II (2012)

  • This means hospitalizations are going to run on and cause problems.

  • Typically, a full-length movie would run on BBC with perhaps one or two short commercial breaks.

    Blog text (8)

  • In London, the soup queues run on for blocks.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • We're running on fumes.

    The Perfect Storm (2000)

  • Republicans have had no populist agenda to run on for nearly fifty years, only a plutocratic agenda.

    Blog text (31)

  • Additionally, standard simultaneous regression analyses were run on all models to check for multicollinearity.

    Academic text (2014)

  • The meeting ran on for over two hours, much longer than we planned.

Synonyms

to keep going
vsto run on
892 1.6

To continue doing something without stopping

stresses lasting longer than expected rather than mere uninterrupted action
to keep on
vsto run on
604 1.4

Continue doing something without stopping

focuses on lasting longer than expected rather than mere repetition
to carry on
vsto run on
285 2.7

To continue doing something after an interruption or when it is difficult

means lasting without interruption or for longer than expected
to continue
vsto run on
145 1.0

To start again after a pause

refers to action that remains in progress without interruption or for extended time
to carry on with
vsto run on
29 2.6

Continue doing something after a pause or interruption

implies ongoing action without pausing or lasting beyond expectation
to run for
vsto run on
19 2.8

To last for a period of time

emphasizes lasting beyond expectation or without interruption

Antonyms

to stop
∞ 1.0

To make something end and not continue

to halt
178 2.4

To stop moving or make something stop moving

How Long

to drag on
46 3.9
to persist
80 3.5
to run on
17 2.8
to keep on
604 1.4
to continue
∞ 1.0
to go on
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

run + on

The meaning 'to be powered by' is directly derivable from combining 'run' in the sense of 'operate' with the preposition 'on' indicating the source or means (e.g., runs on gasoline = operates using gasoline). This verb + preposition composition is common in English and in many other languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would very likely infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Run on comes from a simple image: something that keeps moving past where it should stop, like a clock or engine that keeps turning. So, when a meeting or event runs on, it 'continues for longer than expected'.