runoff

1 of 2

noun

run·off ˈrən-ˌȯf

: a final race, contest, or election to decide an earlier one that has not resulted in a decision in favor of any one competitor

: the portion of precipitation on land that ultimately reaches streams often with dissolved or suspended material

run off

2 of 2

verb

ran off; run off; running off; runs off

transitive verb

: to recite, compose, or produce rapidly

: to cause to be run or played to a finish

: to decide (a race) by a runoff

: carry out

: to drain off : draw off

: to drive off (someone, such as a trespasser)

: to steal (animals, such as cattle) by driving away

intransitive verb

: run away sense 1

Example Sentences

Verb the dog often ran off cats and other animals that had intruded upon his owner's property their rebellious daughter's run off because she was disciplined again

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Former President Barack Obama campaigned for Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock on Thursday night, hoping to boost the senator ahead of his crucial Georgia runoff against Republican Herschel Walker.

Melissa Noel, Essence, 2 Dec. 2022 Democrats in the new Senate will keep their majority, which stands at 50-49 before the runoff vote, because Vice President Kamala Harris has a tiebreaking vote.

Lindsay Wise, WSJ, 18 Nov. 2022 Senate Republicans lost a seat in Pennsylvania to Democrat John Fetterman, and are battling to flip one in Georgia in a runoff vote next month to avoid seeing their minority shrink further.

Anchorage Daily News, 16 Nov. 2022 Democrat Jared Golden received more votes than Republican Bruce Poliquin but fell short of the 50 percent threshold for avoiding a runoff vote.

Joanna Slater, Washington Post, 11 Nov. 2022 Democrat Jared Golden received more votes than Republican Bruce Poliquin but fell short of the 50 percent threshold for avoiding a runoff vote.

Joanna Slater, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Nov. 2022 In Florida, where education has been a hot-button issue for the last year, all six school board candidates endorsed by Ron DeSantis won their runoff, resulting in 24 of the 30 candidates the governor endorsed winning their seats.

Kelsey Koberg, Fox News, 10 Nov. 2022 Raphael Warnock, Georgia’s first Black senator, and ultra-conservative opponent Herschel Walker will head to a runoff vote on December 6 to determine who will be elected senator, the secretary of state announced Wednesday.

Prem Thakker, The New Republic, 9 Nov. 2022 Neither Lula or Bolsonaro gained over 50% of the votes in the first round on October 2, forcing Sunday’s runoff vote.

Camilo Rocha, CNN, 30 Oct. 2022

Verb

White’s former wife, Helen White, also testified, saying that White claimed that Scott Johnson had run off the cliff.

Laura Crimaldi, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Nov. 2022 While McCarthy did add a nice touchdown rush from 3 yards out on a designed run off the left side, his legs were kept in check most of the day.

Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press, 14 Nov. 2022 Bemowski has run off with unknown people previously, returning home months later, the alert said.

Hannah Kirby, Journal Sentinel, 7 Nov. 2022 But rather than using a timeout to reset and make a bold push at scoring before halftime, the Bears let 27 seconds run off the clock, were slow getting a play in and ran and then, with less than 15 seconds to play, Fields was sacked.

Dan Wiederer, Chicago Tribune, 27 Sep. 2022 Beachwood police requested that Moreland Hills officers check the area around the New Directions residential drug treatment center around 7 p.m. Sept. 21 for a girl, 15, who had just run off into the woods.

Thomas Jewell, cleveland, 1 Oct. 2022 That was back when Utah was waist-deep in the attempt to run off with Alex Jensen.

Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 27 Mar. 2021 During one of many cleanup days at the property, Cleaves remembered seeing a bobcat wander onto the property, stare at the group and run off.

Jonah Valdez, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2022 Austin Peay lost its opener to Western Kentucky by a final score of 38-27 but has since run off four consecutive victories — 63-0 over Presbyterian, 41-0 over Mississippi Valley State, 28-3 over Alabama A&M and 31-20 over Eastern Kentucky.

Rex Nelson, Arkansas Online, 27 Sep. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'runoff.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.