run rings around
Synonym of run circles around.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“She runs rings around her brother at chess.”
“Our new puppy runs rings around the older dog in the park.”
“The new intern is so talented that she runs rings around the rest of the team.”
“The small tech startup runs rings around the larger corporations because they can make decisions and launch new products much faster.”
“Although the veteran player was highly respected, the young prodigy ran rings around him during the championship match, leaving the audience in complete disbelief.”
The expression appears in the late 19th century as a variation of the earlier phrase to run circles around. It draws its imagery from the field of competitive athletics, where a runner of vastly superior speed might complete an entire circuit of the track and return to their opponent's side before the latter has made significant progress. The construction suggests not merely a victory, but a performance so effortless that the superior party has time to travel in redundant loops while the inferior party struggles toward the finish.
- 01
break into a run
To start running.
- 02
common run
Ordinary persons, things, or events.
- 03
dry run
A practice or rehearsal; especially, one that goes through all the motions of a physical process but without the raw material or workpiece present.
- 04
dummy run
A trial or practice before the real attempt.
- 05
good run
Success over an extended period.
- 06
hit and run
A road accident in which a driver hits someone and then drives away without stopping to help or take responsibility.
- 07
hold with the hare and run with the hounds
To oppose an action or behavior and yet engage in the same action or behavior; to be a hypocrite.
- 08
learn to walk before one can run
Before one can perform a complicated task, one has to learn how to perform more simple tasks.
Last updated August 10, 2026