runny

UK/ˈɹʌni/US/ˈɹʌni/

adjectiveB1+Common in everyday speech and writing · #7,544 of 15,258leans spoken

Runny means thin enough to flow like liquid. A runny sauce, runny honey, gone runny.

In cooking it is a fault or a virtue depending on what you wanted — a runny yolk is the aim and a runny custard is not. Runny honey has been heated or comes from certain flowers; set honey has crystallised, which is natural. A runny nose is the other main use. Note run, from which it comes.

Definitions of runny

1adjectiverunnyThin enough to flow like liquid.B1+
“I like my eggs with a runny yolk to dip my toast in.”
- Said"I like mine runny, so keep an eye on it for me."
- WrittenThe honey was runny in the summer heat and had to be chased around the plate.
- UsedAdd a little milk if the batter is too runny; it should coat the spoon.
- ContrastRunny, not thin. Thin is a shape; runny is how a liquid moves, fast and everywhere. thin →
- Not thisWater is not runny; it is liquid. Runny is for things that could have been solid.
- Exchange"How do you want the yolk?""Runny. Very runny."
- SimplyThe egg is runny. It goes on the bread.
Patterna runny egg / nose / sauce · too runny · go runny · runniness
synonyms: watery, thin

runny is a quality of thinness.

Remember it

RUNny → so thin it RUNS

It is run + y: the egg is so runny that it runs across the plate.

hooks ontorun

Where it comes from

Proto-Indo-European
*h₃er-
Proto-Indo-European
*h₃reyH- — to boil, churn
Proto-Germanic
*rinnaną — to run
Old Norse
rinna — to run
Old English
rinnan
Middle English
runnen
English
run
English, today
runny

Built from

rennen · Middle English — to run
iernan · Old English — to run

From run + -y. run comes from Middle English runnen, rennen (“to run”), alteration (due to the past participle runne, runnen, yronne) of Middle English rinnen (“to run”), from Old English rinnan, iernan (“to run”) and Old Norse rinna (“to run”), both from Proto-Germanic rinnaną (“to run”), from Proto-Indo-European h₃reyH- (“to boil, churn”). Cognate with Scots rin (“to run”), West Frisian rinne (“to walk, march”), archaic Dutch rinnen (“to flow”, still in geronnen), German rinnen (“to flow”), Swedish rinna (“to flow”), and Icelandic renna (“to flow”). From the causative rannijaną (“to make run”) are Dutch rennen, German rennen, Danish rende, Swedish ränna (all “to run”). Non-Germanic cognates include Albanian rend (“to run, run after”), Persian راندن (“to move, set in motion”). See also random.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in In the Kitchen

Practise this word

runny in the wild

The symptoms of influenza are similar to those of a cold, although usually more severe and less likely to include a runny nose.
Common cold
However, bhurji eggs are cooked until dry, whereas akoori eggs are cooked less while still runny.
Egg bhurji
The result is a white sauce with a strong garlic flavor, varying in consistency from a thick paste to a runny sauce.
Mujdei
Depending on the proportions used it can range from a runny consistency to fairly thick, and can be similar to tapioca pudding or rice pudding.
Sago pudding
Zaw or zaow is a poor man's dish only rice water and salt no fenugreek seed no onions. runny soupy texture.
Soft Khichuri

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the rinna family

run running

runny — used about once every 2,648 pages · #7,544 · point at the bar for the others

Definitions of runny

1adjectiverunnyThin enough to flow like liquid.B1+

“I like my eggs with a runny yolk to dip my toast in.”

Said"I like mine runny, so keep an eye on it for me."
WrittenThe honey was runny in the summer heat and had to be chased around the plate.
UsedAdd a little milk if the batter is too runny; it should coat the spoon.
ContrastRunny, not thin. Thin is a shape; runny is how a liquid moves, fast and everywhere. thin →
Not thisWater is not runny; it is liquid. Runny is for things that could have been solid.
Exchange"How do you want the yolk?""Runny. Very runny."
SimplyThe egg is runny. It goes on the bread.

Patterna runny egg / nose / sauce · too runny · go runny · runniness

synonyms: watery, thin

runny is a quality of thinness.