Word: runner Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English rennere, rynner, urnare, equivalent to run + -er. Cognate with Old Norse rennari (“runner; messenger”). Displaced earlier Middle English runel (“runner”), from Old English rynel (“runner”; also “messenger, courier”). ((botany) a long stolon sent by a plant): Compare typologically Russian побе́г (pobég) (akin to бежа́ть (bežátʹ)). Pronunciation: /ˈɹʌnɚ/, /ˈɹʌnə/, /ˈɹʊnə/, /ˈɹʊnɐ/ 1. Agent noun of run; one who runs. Example: The first runner to cross the finish line wins the race. Example: Near-synonym: racer 2. Agent noun of run; one who runs. Example: The mare is the stables' runner for the 5.15 race at Epsom. Example: The judge said she would not be a runner in the upcoming elections. 3. Agent noun of run; one who runs. Labels: slang 4. Agent noun of run; one who runs. Example: […] at least half of which would be put into the pool for the winner, the rest kept for the runners of the system to cover costs and more than likely make a fair profit. 5. Agent noun of run; one who runs. Labels: in-compounds Example: The gunrunners were arrested leaving the airport. Example: The modus operandi used by the idol and antique runners is to order consignments of fakes. 6. Agent noun of run; one who runs. 7. Agent noun of run; one who runs. Example: The runner was out at second. 8. Agent noun of run; one who runs. 9. Agent noun of run; one who runs. Example: By 1963, Carmine was working as a "runner" for an accounting firm, and he would drop by 1619 Broadway to knock on doors in hopes of selling off some of his songs 10. Agent noun of run; one who runs. Example: “Then you divide your army amongst the various houses where restorations are ordered for Jubilee day?” / “Certainly—say one waiter to ten guests—if it was a dinner we should send one waiter to six guests—with runners, of course.” / “Runners?” / “Omnibuses you call them here—young ones—apprentices—who wait on the waiters.” / “Run everywhere, do anything?” Example: […] the chef can send a runner to see why not and if the waiter has forgotten about the order, a runner can cover and serve. 11. Agent noun of run; one who runs. Labels: US, dated Example: In our prisons you might find a condemned man working as a runner, a trusty, which is about as far from segregation as you can get. 12. Agent noun of run; one who runs. Labels: slang Example: This week hundreds of NFL agents gathered to hear an honorable man talk about a noble pipedream. It was a discussion about a significant step to end one of the cornerstones of corruption in college football: runners. Not the backs getting their 40 times tested at the scouting combine but the slimeball trolls who work on behalf of agents to help recruit — a generous word — football prospects by illegally giving them cash (or cars or money for family members or rent for a nice house) so the player then signs with the agent upon turning pro. 13. Agent noun of run; one who runs. 14. Agent noun of run; one who runs. 15. Agent noun of run; one who runs. 16. A quick escape away from a scene; (by extension) the person who gets away. Labels: slang Example: He did a runner after robbing the drugstore. Example: We were shocked, astonished, when the staff, when pushed, disclosed that they had had to cover runners the previous night. The runners used the scam of ‘smoking’ to go outside after eating and drinking champagne and top-notch wine … and kept walking. And who paid their bill? Staff! Disgusting. 17. A type of soft-soled shoe originally intended for runners. Labels: Australia, Canada, Ireland, Scotland Example: Tess stands by Mr Foley in runners that are bright yellow and exuberant and off-putting. 18. Part of a shoe that is stitched to the bottom of the upper so it can be glued to the sole. 19. A part of an apparatus that moves quickly. Example: After the cycle completes, the runner travels back quickly to be in place for the next cycle. 20. A mechanical part intended to guide or aid something else to move (using wheels or sliding). 21. A mechanical part intended to guide or aid something else to move (using wheels or sliding). 22. A mechanical part intended to guide or aid something else to move (using wheels or sliding). 23. A mechanical part intended to guide or aid something else to move (using wheels or sliding). Example: Maintenance was simplified by making all components easily accessible and easy to remove: for example, the air compressors in the short nose slide out on runners. 24. A mechanical part intended to guide or aid something else to move (using wheels or sliding). 25. A mechanical part intended to guide or aid something else to move (using wheels or sliding). 26. A mechanical part intended to guide or aid something else to move (using wheels or sliding). 27. A mechanical part intended to guide or aid something else to move (using wheels or sliding). 28. A mechanical part intended to guide or aid something else to move (using wheels or sliding). 29. A mechanical part intended to guide or aid something else to move (using wheels or sliding). 30. An automobile; a working or driveable automobile. Labels: slang Example: The car salesman told me that the used Volvo was a nice little runner. Example: Is that old Mercedes on the forecourt a runner? / No, it has no gearbox. 31. A strip of fabric used to decorate or protect a table or dressing table. Example: The red runner makes the table so festive. 32. A long, narrow carpet for a high-traffic area such as a hall or stairs. Example: Why don't we put down a clear runner in the front hall? 33. A part of a cigarette that is burning unevenly. Labels: slang 34. A long stolon sent out by a plant (such as strawberry), in order to root new plantlets, or a plant that propagates by using such runners. 35. A short sling with a carabiner on either end, used to link the climbing rope to a bolt or other protection such as a nut or friend. 36. A leaping food fish (Elagatis pinnulatis) of Florida and the West Indies; the skipjack, shoemaker, or yellowtail. 37. A rope to increase the power of a tackle. 38. A speedrunner. 39. An idea or plan that has potential to be adopted or put into operation. Example: This idea isn't a runner. Let's not waste any more time on it. 40. A running gag. Example: Don’t Look Up jabs around omnidirectionally, and some of the most gleefully ridiculous jokes land: There’s an inspired runner about an increasingly scandal-plagued Supreme Court nominee, for example, and another in which politicians and voters alike absurdly declare their allegiance to “the jobs the comet will bring.” Example: The fairy-tale promise of love and intimacy became a runner in Swift’s work as a songwriter, something she’d repeatedly espouse, then skewer; she was self-aware about the role narrative played in her expectations. 41. A streamlet. Example: A runner, or streamlet, from other woods joined it at this end, and waited in the pool to pass through the grating to the mills. 42. A boat for transporting fish, oysters, etc.