run

"Run" may look like a simple word, but it is used in many everyday ways. The most common meaning is to move quickly on foot. But a river can run to the sea, a machine can run all day, and a person can run a shop or a team. Your nose might run when you have a cold, and you can run a test to check if something works.

The main idea is movement, flow, or control. A politician can run for office, and you can run into a problem or run out of time. In daily English, this word often shows that something is moving, working, or being managed.

The word "run" has many meanings, and that is why it appears so often in English. Its basic meaning is to move quickly on foot, as in "She ran to catch the bus." This is the meaning many learners meet first, but it is only one part of the story.

"Run" is also used for things that operate or continue to work. Machines run, computers run programs, and factories run day and night. A person can run a business, run a meeting, or run a campaign, which means they are in control of it and make it work.

The word also describes flow or movement in a wider sense. Water runs downhill, tears run down a face, colors can run in the wash, and a nose can run during a cold. In these cases, the idea is not feet or speed, but motion from one place to another.

There are many common expressions with "run" as well. You can run a risk, run an errand, run a test, run into someone by chance, or run out of money, time, or energy. A person can also run for office in an election. Because it can describe movement, operation, management, flow, and many set phrases, "run" is one of the broadest and most useful words in everyday English.