run circles around

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run circles around

Where it comes from

Figurative, by the metaphor of lapping footrace competitors.

verb runs circles around · running circles around · ran circles around · run circles around · run circles round

figuratively To outperform by a great margin. You may think you're a good seller Carla, but Rickey will run circles around you any day!
Similar: run rings around, run rings round

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MLA

"run circles around." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/run%20circles%20around. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

APA

run circles around. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/run%20circles%20around

Chicago

"run circles around." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/run%20circles%20around.

BibTeX

@misc{run_circles_around_2026,
  title = {run circles around},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/run%20circles%20around},
  urldate = {2026-11-07}
}