run down

phraseB22 meaningsNot compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

To run down is to lose power gradually — or to criticise somebody unfairly. Two senses that share the idea of something being reduced.

The power sense covers batteries, clocks and stocks, and a battery that runs down has emptied itself slowly. The criticism sense is a real complaint, since running somebody down means belittling them behind their back. There are two more: running down a list means reading through it, and running somebody down with a vehicle is the worst sense of all.

Definitions of run down

1phraserun downTo lose power or be gradually reduced.B2
“The battery will run down if you leave it plugged in.”
2phrasecriticiseTo criticise somebody unfairly.C1
“He would run down every idea that was not his own.”

Practised in Phrasal Verbs, A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 11 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

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run down

phraseB22 meaningsNot compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

To run down is to lose power gradually — or to criticise somebody unfairly. Two senses that share the idea of something being reduced.

Definitions of run down

1phraserun downTo lose power or be gradually reduced.B2
“The battery will run down if you leave it plugged in.”
2phrasecriticiseTo criticise somebody unfairly.C1
“He would run down every idea that was not his own.”

Practised in Phrasal Verbs, A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 11 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word