run down

Definition

Phrasal Verb:
- To pursue and capture or overtake: To chase someone or something until they are caught or reached.
- To criticize or speak negatively about: To disparage or belittle someone or something.
- To lose power or stop functioning; to become exhausted: To gradually lose energy, health, or operational capacity.
- To hit with a vehicle and injure or kill: To strike a person or animal with a moving vehicle.
- To read or recite quickly; to review or trace: To go through a list, summary, or history rapidly.

Usage Examples

To pursue and capture:
- The police managed to run down the suspect after a long chase.
To criticize:
- He's always running down his colleagues, which creates a negative atmosphere.
To lose power/stop functioning:
- The batteries are running down; we need to replace them.
- After working 12-hour days for a month, I feel completely run down.
To hit with a vehicle:
- The driver didn't see the cyclist and accidentally ran him down.
To review quickly:
- Let me run down the main points of the report for you.

Advanced Usage

"to run oneself down": to exhaust oneself physically or mentally through overwork or stress.
- You'll run yourself down if you don't take a break soon.
Used in passive voice to describe a state of disrepair or neglect.
- The old factory site is very run down and needs redevelopment.

Variants and Related Words

Run-down (adjective): In a state of disrepair or poor health.
- They live in a run-down neighborhood.
- She looked tired and run-down after her illness.
Running down (present participle/gerund): The act of pursuing, criticizing, or depleting.

Synonyms

Related Phrasal Verbs

Run over: Similar to 'run down' in the context of hitting with a vehicle; also means to exceed a limit or to review.
- The meeting ran over by thirty minutes. (exceeded time)
- Could you run over the figures with me? (review)
Run through: To use up quickly; to rehearse or review.
- He ran through his inheritance in a year.
- Let's run through the plan one more time.

Related Idioms

Run (someone/something) into the ground: To overuse or exhaust someone or something completely.
- He ran that car into the ground before finally buying a new one.
Run a tight ship: To manage something in a strict, efficient manner. (Contrasts with allowing things to become 'run down').
- The new manager runs a very tight ship.

Verb

pursue until captured
- They ran down the fugitive
deplete
- exhaust one's savings
- We quickly played out our strength
examine hastily
- She scanned the newspaper headlines while waiting for the taxi
use up all one's strength and energy and stop working
- At the end of the march, I pooped out
injure or kill by running over, as with a vehicle
move downward
- The water ran down
trace
- We are running down a few tips

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