run across

phrase

Definition of run acrossnext
1
as in find
to come upon unexpectedly or by chance She ran across an old friend at lunch.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in encounter
to come upon face-to-face or as if face-to-face They ran across a bear while camping in the woods.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for run across
  1. run into
  2. bump into
Phrase
  • Similar action took place in Nvidia Monday after the company disputed a report by SemiAnalysis that its next-gen Kyber server rack was running into delays.
    — Oliver Renick, CNBC, 7 July 2026
  • After a sloppy midfield giveaway — somewhat of a theme for Portugal in this tournament — Spain was able to find space running into the box for a shot on goal from Mikel Oyarzabal.
    — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 July 2026
Definition of run into
Phrase
  • Reports have described delivery robots bumping into people, getting stuck in odd places and raising accessibility concerns.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 6 July 2026
  • When a bubble bumped into the cell, their membranes would fuse, releasing the supplies inside.
    — Yasemin Saplakoglu, Quanta Magazine, 1 July 2026
Definition of bump into
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

runabouts
run across
run after
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Run across.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/run%20across. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gambol

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All