Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
run-down

run-down

15 4.5
A building or place that is in poor condition because people do not look after it
  • adjective
  • /ˈrʌnˌdaʊn/
translation icon : deteriorado
  • The old hotel had become so run-down that it was hardly safe to stay there.
  • a run-down neighborhood

Like you go and you see like this area that's really run down and the signs are kind of like fading and this again.

Examples

  • On one side was a grocery and on the other a coin laundry, both run down, both still in business.

    Academic text (2008)

  • Whole place looks mighty run down.

    Love Me Tender (1956)

  • The place is probably run down by now.

    Revenge (1986)

  • That place is getting run down.

    My Man Godfrey (1936)

  • I was thinking about it today when I decided to drive out to our old home place, now run down and abandoned.

    The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972)

  • The area's not as run-down as you said it was.

    Match Point (2005)

  • It's a bit run down now, but she wouldn't let it go.

    Byzantium (2013)

  • This neighborhood is gettin' terribly run down.

    Hearts in Atlantis (2001)

  • The sign is planted in front of a run-down home in a run-down neighborhood.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • An hour later, they were riding toward the city's gates, passing through another run-down neighborhood.

    Fiction book (1992)

Synonyms

broken-down
vsrun-down
24 4.4

In very poor condition and not working because of age or neglect

is more about buildings and places rather than machines or vehicles
in ruins
vsrun-down
23 3.8

A place or thing that is very badly damaged, often used for buildings and companies

implies total collapse beyond ordinary neglect or gradual wear
worn-out
vsrun-down
20 3.1

An object too old or damaged from heavy use to be useful

emphasizes long use wear rather than general dilapidation from neglect
dilapidated
vsrun-down
18 6.2

A building that is very old and badly damaged because no one fixed it

is the common neutral term for the same poor condition
derelict
vsrun-down
14 7.5

A place or building that is abandoned and in very bad condition from lack of use

focuses on neglect and long use without implying abandonment
decrepit
vsrun-down
9 6.6

A building or vehicle that is very old and in poor condition from lack of care

highlights old age and extreme wear rather than mild neglect
flea-bitten
vsrun-down
  • Archaic
2 7.8

Old and in bad condition from use and poor care

is the neutral term used in wider contexts, not only colloquial
tumble-down
vsrun-down
1 6.7

An old building in very bad condition because no one repaired it

focuses on general neglect-based poor state rather than extreme ruin
tumbledown
vsrun-down
5.6

A building that is old, not cared for, and falling apart

is a milder term for general poor condition rather than very broken
flyblown
vsrun-down
  • Archaic
9.5

Being dirty and not cared for

stresses dirtiness and squalor rather than simple disrepair

Antonyms

well-kept
7 1.8

Neat and in good condition because someone looks after it

How Dilapidated

derelict
14 7.5
dilapidated
18 6.2
neglected
3.7
run-down
15 4.5
shabby
33 2.5
worn
4 2.1

Surface Forms

run-down positive
run-downer comparative
run-downest superlative

Morphology

run-down = run + down (opaque) = run + down

The adjective is historically related to the phrasal verb 'run down', but its meaning 'dilapidated' is not directly predictable from 'run' + 'down' for an average learner.

Etymology

The word run-down comes from the image of something that has run down, meaning 'used up' or 'low', like a battery that loses power. So a run-down building is one that is worn out and in poor condition.