How to pronounce run
Say it like RUHN. Run is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress.
Click the play button next to American or British to hear how to pronounce run. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- RUHN
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Run pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- RUHNSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "u" in cup.
American vs British pronunciation of run
American and British speakers say run in essentially the same way: /rʌn/ in the US and /rʌn/ in the UK.
British respelling: RUHN.
What does run mean?
- move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time“Don't run--you'll be out of breath”“The children ran to the store”
- flee; take to one's heels; cut and run“If you see this man, run!”“The burglars escaped before the police showed up”
- stretch out over a distance, space, time, or scope; run or extend between two points or beyond a certain point“Service runs all the way to Cranbury”“His knowledge doesn't go very far”
- a score in baseball made by a runner touching all four bases safely“the Yankees scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th”“their first tally came in the 3rd inning”
- the act of testing something“in the experimental trials the amount of carbon was measured separately”“he called each flip of the coin a new trial”
- a race run on foot“she broke the record for the half-mile run”
Where does run come from?
Cognate with Scots rin (“to run”), West Frisian rinne (“to walk, march”), archaic Dutch rinnen (“to flow”, still in geronnen), German rinnen (“to flow”), Swedish rinna (“to flow”), and Icelandic renna (“to flow”).
Similar and opposite words
Opposite meaning
Words that rhyme with run
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of run.
Questions about saying run
How do you pronounce run?
Say RUHN. The American pronunciation is /rʌn/. In British English it is /rʌn/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in run?
Run is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: RUHN.
Do Americans and Brits say run the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /rʌn/ and the British form is /rʌn/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.