To quickly practice or review something, such as a plan, performance, or list, often to make sure everything is correct.
Let's run through the presentation one more time before the meeting.
A: Are you ready for your speech? B: Not yet. I want to run through it again to make sure I remember everything.
Before my exam, I always run through my notes to refresh my memory.
Common mistake
✗Let's run through with the plan.
✓Let's run through the plan.
'Run through' takes the object directly — no 'with'.
Tell it apart
We ran through the routine twice.
rehearsed it
We ran through our savings fast.
used them all up
Use 'run through' when you want to talk about practicing or checking something, not about physically running.'Run through' here is about practicing, not about using something up.
To use or spend something, such as money or resources, very quickly.
We ran through all our savings in just a few months.
A: How did you spend your birthday money so fast? B: I ran through it buying new clothes and gadgets.
Many students run through their phone data quickly because they watch a lot of videos online.
Common mistake
✗He ran through with his inheritance.
✓He ran through his inheritance.
'Run through' takes the object directly — no 'with'.
Tell it apart
She ran through her savings fast.
used them all up
She ran through her notes fast.
reviewed them quickly
Use 'run through' to talk about using something quickly, not when something is completely gone.'Run through' here is about spending or using, not about practicing.
To be present in or characteristic of every part of something, especially in a way that is abstract, such as an idea, feeling, or quality that influences or defines the whole.
A sense of optimism runs through the entire report, despite the challenges outlined.
A: Did you notice how nostalgia runs through all her novels? B: Absolutely, it's like a thread connecting every story she tells.
A recurring theme of resilience runs through much of the literature produced during times of crisis, reflecting the collective mindset of the era.
Common mistake
✗The same theme runs across the novel.
✓The same theme runs through the novel.
A theme 'runs THROUGH' something — not 'across'.
Tell it apart
A dark humour runs through his films.
is present throughout
Let's run through the script.
rehearse / review it
This sense is used in formal or neutral contexts to describe an idea, feeling, or theme that is present throughout a situation, piece of writing, or group. It is not used for physical movement or for practicing/rehearsing.Unlike the B1 sense ('practice or rehearse') and the B2 sense ('use up quickly'), this C2 sense is figurative and refers to an abstract quality, idea, or theme that is present throughout something, such as a report, a conversation, or a culture.