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Synonyms

run out of

Idioms  

  1. Exhaust a supply or quantity of, as in We're about to run out of coffee and sugar. This expression, dating from about 1700, can be used both literally and figuratively. Thus run out of gas may mean one no longer has any fuel, but it has also acquired the figurative sense of exhausting a supply of energy, enthusiasm, or support, and hence causing some activity to come to a halt. For example, After running ten laps I ran out of gas and had to rest to catch my breath, or The economic recovery seems to have run out of gas. On the other hand, run out of steam, originally alluding to a steam engine, today is used only figuratively to indicate a depletion of energy of any kind.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Last month, Guterres warned that the UN was facing financial collapse and could run out of cash by July, with member states neither paying in full nor or time.

From Barron's

It now fears the program’s trust fund could run out of money in as little as six years.

From MarketWatch

They had to commit to that long before the entry was confirmed, or they would simply have run out of time.

From BBC

"So we had to take other steps just to try and make sure that we didn't run out of storage."

From BBC

Less than half way round their usual route, they run out of meals.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.