ran off

verb

past tense of run off
1
as in ejected
to drive or force out the dog often ran off cats and other animals that had intruded upon his owner's property

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in escaped
to get free from a dangerous or confining situation their rebellious daughter's run off because she was disciplined again

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in retreated
to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening the mouse ran off as soon as it saw us

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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 off Rory McIlroy ran off three straight birdies late in the round and saved par from a bunker on the 18th for a 65. — ABC News, 22 Aug. 2026 The occupants of the vehicle ran off; two were taken into custody. — Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 21 Aug. 2026 The teen suspect ran off with the pistol, but left the magazine behind, Kenny said. — Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 20 Aug. 2026 The suspect ditched his bike in the Broadway-Manchester neighborhood, northeast of where Interstates 105 and 110 intersect, and ran off. — Fedor Zarkhin, Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 2026 Gilbert earned Wilson’s endorsement early on and ran off of the strength of his ties to Miami Gardens. — Raisa Habersham, Miami Herald, 19 Aug. 2026 The vehicle crossed the center line, ran off the right side of the roadway and struck a tree. — Francie Ebert, NBC news, 12 Aug. 2026 At that point, witnesses told police the man ran off and entered a building in the 4000 block of North Ashland Avenue. — Todd Feurer, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026 After the loss to Martins, Makhachev ran off 10 straight wins. — Trent Reinsmith, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ran off
  1. ejected
  2. escaped
  3. retreated
  4. dismissed
  5. fled
  6. bolted
  7. outed
  8. ran away
Verb
  • Plate umpire Alan Porter tossed Vitello and first-base ump Jim Wolf ejected Webb, who was not pitching Friday.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Days later, a former NBA player who has used the WNBA as a vehicle for anti-trans advocacy was ejected from a Chicago Sky game, after engaging in an altercation with team guard Natasha Cloud.
    — Odette Yousef, NPR, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of ejected
Verb
  • In the mechanical maintenance shop, five employees and the foreman escaped, but two were killed from exposure to the chemical, the report said.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Simpson escaped pressure and rolled out to his left before firing a pass to diving receiver Brennan Presley for a touchdown.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of escaped
Verb
  • Lake Washington is a 200-foot-deep trough carved by glaciers that retreated 16,000 years ago.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Galliano retreated from public life for two years and was found guilty by a Paris court of public insults based on religion, race and ethnicity.
    — Kimberly Nordyke, HollywoodReporter, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of retreated
Verb
  • Gibson Dunn, an external law firm, investigated and dismissed Love’s complaints.
    — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Advertisement Unfortunately, some of my academic and clinical colleagues have dismissed this approach.
    — David H. Rosmarin, Time, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of dismissed
Verb
  • Officers said Rodriguez sped out of the lot and fled the scene.
    — Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Many fled to neighboring states where horse racing has successfully paired operations with gaming.
    — Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of fled
Verb
  • The Hall of Fame coach is taking over for D’Anton Lynn, who bolted for his alma mater Penn State after two meh seasons.
    — Mirjam Swanson, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Flipping the lecture cycle Classically, engineering courses default to hours of lectures where students are expected to take notes, with problem sets and exams bolted on.
    — Jason Corso, Time, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of bolted
Verb
  • Co-owner John Mara is battling cancer, and co-owner Steve Tisch is laying low after being outed in the Epstein Files.
    — Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Photoplay’s feature Hollywood’s Unmarried Husbands and Wives outed several of the era’s most bankable couples—Clark Gable and Carole Lombard among them—for the crime of cohabitating without paperwork.
    — Natalie Hoberman, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of outed
Verb
  • The suspect ran away but was taken into custody hours later, Wells said.
    — Nathaniel Percy, Oc Register, 24 Aug. 2026
  • The second teen suspect ran away but was eventually located and arrested.
    — Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of ran away

Browse Nearby Words

ranks
ran off
ran off with
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Cite this Entry

“Ran off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ran%20off. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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