rundown

Etymology

It is a noun use of the phrasal verb run down,^[2][3][4][5] from run and down.^[3] Dictionary.com marks it as an Americanism, from 1905–10.^[5] The adjective run-down comes from the same phrasal verb.^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The act of running down or being run down, especially a gradual reduction in the size of an organization: 1890, in W. B. Lewis's textbook of mental diseases.^[2] Etymonline and Merriam-Webster date the noun from 1908, in baseball.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

The phrasal verb was used in hunting for chasing an animal until it was caught or killed by the 1660s.^[3] In baseball a rundown was, from 1908, the play in which fielders throw the ball between them to tag out a runner caught between two bases.^[2][3][4] In American horse-racing slang it was a list of the entries and their current odds (1931 in the OED, 1935 in Etymonline).^[2][3] From this, Etymonline suggests, came the general sense of a summary or brief account of the facts, recorded from 1943 in the OED and 1945 in Etymonline.^[2][3] Green's Dictionary of Slang has an earlier example of the summary sense, in Wodehouse's Psmith, Journalist (1915).^[6] In Caribbean English a rundown is also a dish of fish or meat and vegetables boiled in coconut sauce (1943).^[2]

Timeline

• 1890 – the action of running down; a gradual reduction.^[2]
• 1908 – in baseball, an attempt to tag out a runner trapped between bases.^[2][3][4]
• 1931 – in American horse racing, a list of entries and odds.^[2] Etymonline dates it to 1935.^[3]
• 1943 – a summary or brief account of the facts.^[2] Etymonline dates it to 1945.^[3]
• 1943 – in the Caribbean, a dish cooked in coconut sauce.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A brief summary or item-by-item account of the facts: The manager gave us a rundown of the week's sales.^[4][2][6]
2. In baseball, a play in which fielders try to tag out a runner caught between two bases.^[4][2]
3. A gradual reduction in the size or activity of an organization or industry.^[2]
4. In American horse racing, a list of the entries and their current odds.^[2][3]
5. In the Caribbean, a dish of fish, meat or vegetables boiled in a coconut sauce.^[2]

Related words

• run
• down
• run-down

Usage notes

The noun is stressed on the first syllable, /ˈrʌndaʊn/, while the adjective run-down (worn out; dilapidated) is usually stressed on the second.^[2] Both are sometimes written with or without the hyphen.^[7][6]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press