RAN INTO Synonyms: 48 Similar and Opposite Words

ran into

phrase

past tense of run into

as in found

to come upon unexpectedly or by chance They ran into a new set of problems as soon as they thought everything was fixed.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in encountered

to come upon face-to-face or as if face-to-face The woman ran into her boss at the grocery store.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of ran into Seeing The Love Junkies, ran into Eric Church and his wife, Katherine, on the dance floor, Kane Brown and his wife and I had a great chat. — Ashlyn Robinette, PEOPLE, 31 Aug. 2026 Dorgu ran into players, and Fernandes, throwing his arms around in exasperation at Tielemans’ failure to control the ball, looked a picture of frustration. — Stuart James, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026 But government lawyers ran into a hornet’s nest after subpoenaing Rhode Island hospital for records about medical care for gender dysphoria. — Bart Jansen, USA Today, 23 Aug. 2026 Responding officers heard screams coming from inside the home and ran into the basement. — Rebekah Riess, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026 Moore drew public scrutiny after a different horse ran into traffic and was hit by a car in uptown Charlotte in April. — Amber Gaudet updated August 21, Charlotte Observer, 21 Aug. 2026 The race was supposed to be held every year for the next 10 years, but the 2003 event was scrapped after organizers failed to fix the noise problems and ran into other operational issues. — Stefan Becket, CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026 Weeks after its liftoff in early July to boost the decaying orbit of NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, which launched in 2004, LINK ran into trouble, spinning out of control and suffering sporadic communications. — Tom Metcalfe, Scientific American, 18 Aug. 2026 Don Nelson’s path to the Dallas Mavericks Nellie was the head coach behind a long line of solid Milwaukee Bucks teams in the ‘80s that constantly ran into Larry Bird’s Boston Celtics. — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ran into

bumped into

Phrase

Rios bumped into the second man before pulling out a gun and firing a shot in his direction, deputies said.

— David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 25 Aug. 2026
Instead of swinging all the way out, the door bumped into somebody.

— Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of bumped into

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ran in

ran into

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Style

“Ran into.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ran%20into. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of ran into

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