run down

run down (something)

to use the power that makes something work. We left the car lights on and ran down the battery. I wound up the toy dog and watched it jump until it ran down.

See also: down, run

---

run down someone/something

1. to search for and find someone or something. We spend a lot of money each year running down students who are out of school illegally. The software giant spent months running down bugs in the program and fixing them. The cops tried to run these guys down, but they had no luck.

2. to unfairly criticize someone or something. People run down the justice system all the time, but it works relatively fairly. Some people can only feel better about themselves if they're running you down.

3. .

See also: down, run

---

run down someone

to injure or kill someone with a vehicle. He's accused of running down two pedestrians while driving drunk. She tried to run us down!

See also: down, run

---

run down something

1. to explain something. I'll run down my research quickly. T. J. ran it all down for him, explaining the different costs of each option.

2. to reduce something. We are going to start running down our savings if prices don't stop rising. I want to run our supplies down some more before we reorder.

See also: down, run