runner
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runner¹
- /ˈɹʌnɚ/ US
- /ˈɹʌnə/ UK
- /ˈɹʊnə/ Northern England, UK
- /ˈɹʊnɐ/ Northumbria, UK
Rhymes with -ʌnə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
From Middle English rennere, rynner, urnare, equivalent to run + -er. Cognate with Old Norse rennari (“runner; messenger”). Displaced earlier Middle English runel (“runner”), from Old English rynel (“runner”; also “messenger, courier”).
((botany) a long stolon sent by a plant): Compare typologically Russian побе́г (pobég) (akin to бежа́ть (bežátʹ)).
noun runners
-
A person who moves, on foot, at a fast pace, especially an athlete.
The first runner to cross the finish line wins the race.
Similar: racer
- Any entrant, person or animal (especially a horse), for a race or any competition; a candidate for an election. The mare is the stables' runner for the 5.15 race at Epsom.
- A competitor in a poker tournament.
- Somebody who controls or manages (e.g. a system). […] at least half of which would be put into the pool for the winner, the rest kept for the runners of the system to cover costs and more than likely make a fair profit.
- A person or vessel that runs blockades or engages in smuggling. The gunrunners were arrested leaving the airport.
- A player who runs for a batsman who is too injured to run; he is dressed exactly as the injured batsman, and carries a bat.
- A baserunner. The runner was out at second.
- A person (from one or the other team) who runs out onto the field during the game to take verbal instructions from the coach to the players. A runner mustn't interfere with play, and may have to wear an identifying shirt to make clear his or her purpose on the field.
- Anyone sent on an errand or with communications, especially for a bank (or, historically, a foot soldier responsible for carrying messages during war). By 1963, Carmine was working as a "runner" for an accounting firm, and he would drop by 1619 Broadway to knock on doors in hopes of selling off some of his songs
- A restaurant employee responsible for taking food from the kitchens to the tables. “Then you divide your army amongst the various houses where restorations are ordered for Jubilee day?” / “Certainly—say one waiter to ten guests—if it was a dinner we should send one waiter to six guests—with runners, of course.” / “Runners?” / “Omnibuses you call them here—young ones—apprentices—wh
- A trusty (prisoner granted special privileges). In our prisons you might find a condemned man working as a runner, a trusty, which is about as far from segregation as you can get.
- An employee of a sports agent who tries to recruit possible player clients for the agent. This week hundreds of NFL agents gathered to hear an honorable man talk about a noble pipedream. It was a discussion about a significant step to end one of the cornerstones of corruption in college football: runners. Not the backs getting their 40 times tested at the scouting combine but the slimeba
- A person hired by a gambling establishment to locate potential customers and bring them in.
- One who runs away; a deserter or escapee.
- An assistant.
- A quick escape away from a scene; (by extension) the person who gets away. He did a runner after robbing the drugstore.
- A type of soft-soled shoe originally intended for runners. Tess stands by Mr Foley in runners that are bright yellow and exuberant and off-putting.
- Part of a shoe that is stitched to the bottom of the upper so it can be glued to the sole.
- A part of an apparatus that moves quickly. After the cycle completes, the runner travels back quickly to be in place for the next cycle.
- A smooth strip on which a sledge runs.
- The blade of an ice skate.
- The channel or strip on which a drawer is opened and closed.
- Part of a mechanism which allows something to be pulled out for maintenance. Maintenance was simplified by making all components easily accessible and easy to remove: for example, the air compressors in the short nose slide out on runners.
-
The curved base of a rocking chair.
Similar: rocker
- In saddlery, a loop of metal through which a rein is passed.
- In molding, a channel cut in a mold.
- The rotating-stone of a grinding-mill.
- The movable piece to which the ribs of an umbrella are attached.
- A tool in which lenses are fastened for polishing.
- An automobile; a working or driveable automobile. The car salesman told me that the used Volvo was a nice little runner.
- A strip of fabric used to decorate or protect a table or dressing table. The red runner makes the table so festive.
- A long, narrow carpet for a high-traffic area such as a hall or stairs. Why don't we put down a clear runner in the front hall?
- A part of a cigarette that is burning unevenly.
- A long stolon sent out by a plant (such as strawberry), in order to root new plantlets, or a plant that propagates by using such runners.
-
A short sling with a carabiner on either end, used to link the climbing rope to a bolt or other protection such as a nut or friend.
Similar: quick-draw, extender
- A leaping food fish (Elagatis pinnulatis) of Florida and the West Indies; the skipjack, shoemaker, or yellowtail.
- A rope to increase the power of a tackle.
- A speedrunner.
- An idea or plan that has potential to be adopted or put into operation. This idea isn't a runner. Let's not waste any more time on it.
- A running gag. Don’t Look Up jabs around omnidirectionally, and some of the most gleefully ridiculous jokes land: There’s an inspired runner about an increasingly scandal-plagued Supreme Court nominee, for example, and another in which politicians and voters alike absurdly declare their allegiance to “the jobs the
- A streamlet. A runner, or streamlet, from other woods joined it at this end, and waited in the pool to pass through the grating to the mills.
- A boat for transporting fish, oysters, etc.
Runner²
noun Runners
- Short for Bow Street Runner
proper noun Runners
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: smuggler, contrabandist, base runner, offset, stolon, blue runner, caranx crysos, race, racer, gang, ski, cyclist, sprinter, sliding, run, slide
Translations
Every language
noun somebody who runs, who moves at a fast pace
| Español | corredor, corredora |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 주자 juja |
| 日本語 | 走者 sōsha, ランナー rannā |
| 中文 | 跑步者 pǎobùzhě, 跑者 pǎozhě |
| हिन्दी | धावक dhāvak, रनर ranar |
| Português | corredor, corredora |
| Français | coureur, coureuse |
| Deutsch | Läufer, Läuferin |
| Italiano | podista, corridore, corritrice |
| Ελληνικά | δρομέας droméas |
| Română | alergător, alergătoare |
| Русский | бегу́н begún, бегу́нья begúnʹja |
| Tiếng Việt | người chạy |
| العربية | عَدَّاء ʕaddāʔ, عَدَّاءَة ʕaddāʔa |
| עברית | אָצָן atsán |
noun mechanical part intended to guide or aid something else to move
| Français | coulisse, glissière |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Kufe |
| Русский | по́лоз póloz, доро́жка doróžka |
noun anyone sent on an errand or with communications
| 中文 | 信差 xìnchāi, 通訊員 /通讯员 tōngxùnyuán |
|---|---|
| Русский | курье́р kurʹjér, гоне́ц gonéc, посы́льный posýlʹnyj, посы́льная posýlʹnaja, рассы́льный rassýlʹnyj, рассы́льная rassýlʹnaja |
noun slang: quick escape away from a scene
| Português | fuga |
|---|
noun type of soft-soled shoe
| 한국어 | 운동화 undonghwa |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | スニーカー sunīkā |
| 中文 | 運動鞋 /运动鞋 yùndòngxié, 球鞋 qiúxié |
| Deutsch | Laufschuh |
| Русский | кроссо́вка krossóvka |
noun part of an apparatus that moves quickly
| Русский | бегуно́к begunók |
|---|
noun strip of fabric used to decorate a table
| Português | trilho, centro de mesa |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Tischläufer |
Talk about this word "runner." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/runner. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. runner. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/runner "runner." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/runner.
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@misc{runner_2026,
title = {runner},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/runner},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
