runner ( runners plural )
1 n-count A runner is a person who runs, especially for sport or pleasure.
...a marathon runner..., I am a very keen runner and am out training most days.
2 n-count The runners in a horse race are the horses taking part.
There are 18 runners in the top race of the day.
3 n-count A drug runner or gun runner is someone who illegally takes drugs or guns into a country.
4 n-count Someone who is a runner for a particular person or company is employed to take messages, collect money, or do other small tasks for them.
...a bookie's runner.
5 n-count Runners are thin strips of wood or metal underneath something which help it to move smoothly.
...the runners of his sled.
6 If someone does a runner, they leave a place in a hurry, for example in order to escape arrest or to avoid paying for something. (BRIT) INFORMAL
do a runner phrase V inflects
(=do a bunk) At this point, the accountant did a runner<endash>with all my bank statements, expenses and receipts.
front-runner ( front-runners plural ) In a competition or contest, the front-runner is the person who seems most likely to win it. n-count
Neither of the front-runners in the presidential election is a mainstream politician.
gun-runner ( gun-runners plural )
in AM, use gunrunner A gun-runner is someone who takes or sends guns into a country secretly and illegally. n-count
runner bean ( runner beans plural ) Runner beans are long green beans that are eaten as a vegetable. They grow on a tall climbing plant and are the cases that contain the seeds of the plant.
(BRIT) n-count usu pl
in AM, use pole beans, scarlet runners
runner-up ( runners-up plural ) A runner-up is someone who has finished in second place in a race or competition. n-count oft N to n
The ten runners-up will receive a case of wine.