To hit someone with a vehicle, to criticize someone unfairly, or to become depleted of power or energy
To knock someone over with a car, say bad things about someone, or when a battery stops working
4 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
To hit a person or animal with a vehicle
"The driver ran down a cyclist who had swerved into the road."
He was run down by a car while crossing the street.
— General reported speech widely used in news journalism (BBC News style)
To criticize someone repeatedly or unfairly; to speak badly about someone
"She's always running down her colleagues behind their backs."
To lose power or energy gradually until stopping; to become exhausted or depleted
"If you leave the lights on all night, the car battery will run down."
To find someone or something after a search; to track down
"It took the detective weeks to run down the missing witness."
To run in a downward direction — helps explain the 'depleting' sense but not the criticism sense
To knock someone over with a car, say bad things about someone, or when a battery stops working
The vehicle sense is common in both British and American English. The criticism sense ('don't run me down') is more informal. 'Run-down' as an adjective (a run-down building) is widespread and related.
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Listen to native speakers using "run down" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
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