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Glite Dictionary
to run out of

to run out of

646 1.9
Have no more of something because you used it all
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : quedarse sin
  • We ran out of milk, so I couldn't make the cake.
  • run out of money
  • run out of time
  • run out of steam

And he's realizing he's running out of ways to to do that.

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Examples

Synonyms

to run out
vsto run out of
937 1.9

Use all of something so none is left

is the common everyday way to express that situation
to use up
vsto run out of
69 2.7

To finish all of something so nothing is left

expresses the same completion but as a simple everyday phrase
to exhaust
vsto run out of
68 3.7

To use up all of a supply or resource

is the neutral everyday sense of having no more left
to give out
vsto run out of
57 4.1

To stop working or run out so nothing is left

means lack caused by using all rather than by failure or breakage
to finish off
vsto run out of
20 3.5

To use up the last of something

focuses on simple absence after use rather than the act of finishing
to run through
vsto run out of
16 4.4

Use up money or supplies quickly and wastefully

means finishing a supply without implying speed or waste
to deplete
vsto run out of
13 6.3

To use up almost all of something so little is left

refers to total use leaving nothing left rather than partial reduction
to run dry
vsto run out of
10 4.2

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

describes actively using everything until nothing remains

Antonyms

to stock up
39 2.9

Buy a large supply of something to use later

Surface Forms

run out of infinitive
ran out of past
run out of past participle
running out of present participle
runs out of third person singular

Morphology

run + out + of

The sense 'to have used all of something' is partially inferable because 'out' conveys a lack/absence (no longer inside) and 'run' can metaphorically imply movement away, but the specific meaning of depletion is a metaphorical extension rather than a directly compositional combination of the literal senses. The presence of the function word 'of' as a linker and cross-linguistic variation in how languages express depletion mean a B1 learner who only knows the constituents may guess the general idea in context but would not reliably derive the exact meaning without exposure.

Etymology

The phrasal verb run out of comes from the image of run + out: imagine water running out of a bottle until it is empty. So, when you run out of something today, it means 'to have used all of something so that none is left'.