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run-in. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
run-in, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
run-in in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
run-in you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology 1
Derived from the verb run into.
For the meaning "end-phase", it presumably comes a marathon race, where in the final part the runners run into the stadium and complete a lap.
Pronunciation
Noun
run-in (plural run-ins)
- An encounter; a scrape or brush, especially one involving trouble or difficulty.
2004, Pamela Morsi, Suburban Renewal, page 95:During that time he had two more run-ins with the law. One involved the sale of stolen property. The other was for a series of hot checks.
- The end-phase of a competition etc.
1951 October, R. S. McNaught, “Lines of Approach”, in Railway Magazine, page 704:But despite its plague of tunnels, the run-in on this route is of unusual interest to the locomotive enthusiast: besides the hordes of self-important saddle-tanks shunting in the extensive yards, there was at one time the chance of seeing those slender little North London engines, with their large outside cylinders and no visible storage place for coal, and also an occasional South Eastern locomotive sporting a lot of polished brass.
Translations
an encounter; a scrape or brush
end-phase of a competition
Etymology 2
Derived from the verb run in.
Pronunciation
Adjective
run-in (not generally comparable, comparative more run-in, superlative most run-in)
- (participial adjective; editing, typography) (not comparable) Having been run in before or behind previous text.
- Antonym: free-hanging
These headings are of the run-in type because a free-hanging style would just be a waste of column inches.
- (participial adjective; mechanical, engineering) (sometimes comparable) Having been run in to seat the parts.
- Synonym: broken in (adj)
A well run-in engine is likelier to consume less crankcase oil over the course of its working life.
Anagrams