AAAmerican Accent US

run down

Separable

The object can go before or after the particle — but a pronoun MUST go in the middle: “clean it up”, never “clean up it”.

How to say it

Stress the particle, not the verb: run DOWN. Saying “RUN down” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.

No pause between the words. /n/ runs straight into /d/ — “run down” is one rhythmic unit with a single stressed beat on the particle.

Verb vs noun

As a noun the stress flips to the front: the verb is run DOWN, the noun is RUNDOWN. Same two words, different beat — “to run DOWN” is the action, “a rundown” is the thing. Getting this backwards makes the sentence land oddly even when every sound is right.

2 meanings

  1. 1

    To criticize someone or something unfairly.

    • “Stop running yourself down — the work was good.”

    Similar: disparage, belittle

  2. 2

    (Of a battery or device) to lose power gradually.

    • “The battery had run down overnight.”

    Similar: drain

The particle logic

down

Something decreases, collapses, settles, or gets recorded.

Listen + practice

Hear “run down” spoken naturally

Pick a sentence to record

Read the sentence aloud. Keep the stress on the particle and run the two words together — we’ll score every sound and flag what to work on.

Click to record

More RUN phrasal verbs

Compare the whole family →

run into

To meet someone unexpectedly.

run out of

To use up the entire supply of something.

run over

To hit someone or something with a vehicle.

run away

To escape from a place, especially home.

run through

To rehearse or review something from beginning to end.

run by

To tell someone an idea in order to get their reaction.

run up

To accumulate a large bill or debt.

run down — meaning, examples & how to say it