ENGLISH
REFERENCE

run someone off their feet

idiom
Meaning

To cause someone to become very busy, especially to an exhausting degree; to make someone work very hard and very quickly.


Examples
SIMPLE

The busy customers are running me off my feet today.

CONTEXTUAL

The restaurant was so crowded during the holiday that the manager ran the staff off their feet.

COMPLEX

The relentless pace of the new project has run the entire design team off their feet for weeks on end.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    as if someone owns the place

    Alternative form of like someone owns the place.

  2. 02

    beat feet

    To run.

  3. 03

    beat someone round the ears

    To beat (a person) with blows about the head.

  4. 04

    bless someone with

    To give or bestow, as a gift from God.

  5. 05

    break into a run

    To start running.

  6. 06

    bring someone to their knees

    To defeat and make submit to orders.

  7. 07

    call someone every name in the book

    To call someone many abusive names.

  8. 08

    call someone everything but a child of God

    To call someone many abusive names.

Last updated April 17, 2026