to run on
24
2.8
- 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.
- 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.
-
And why did they create bus timetables when they never ran on time?
-
History shows us it's the only way to make them run on time.
-
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.
-
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
∞
1.0
To start again after a pause
357
1.6
To continue doing something without stopping
306
1.4
Continue doing something without stopping
253
2.7
To continue doing something after an interruption or when it is difficult
84
2.8
To last for a period of time
19
2.6
Continue doing something after a pause or interruption
Antonyms
How Long
42
3.9
61
3.5
24
2.8
306
1.4
∞
1.0
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
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'.