See Also:

run-down (iou)



run-down adjective & noun. Also run down, rundown. L17.
[from run down s.v. RUN verb.]
A. adjective.
1. Downtrodden, oppressed. rare. Only in L17.
2. In a low state of health; weak or ill through overwork etc. M19.
J. R. Ackerley I had made no actual plans for a holiday, but I was terribly run down. R. P. Graves Alfred had an unpleasant sore throat and felt..run-down.
3. Dilapidated; esp. (of a district etc.) decayed, shabby, seedy. L19.
R. Ingalls A quiet, slightly run-down neighbourhood. F. Raphael A life of penurious self-indulgence on his rundown estate.
4. (Of a clock etc.) completely unwound; no longer functioning through lack of power. L19.
E. Ambler Leads for attaching the thing to a run-down battery.
B. noun.
1. Baseball. An action whereby defending players attempt to tag out a runner caught off base between them. E20.
2. Horse-racing. A list of entries and betting odds. Freq. attrib. US slang. M20.
3. A (usu. verbal) listing of items of information; a summary; a brief account. M20.
W. Golding I gave him a run-down of the virtues..of the boat.
4. A gradual reduction in the size or scope of an organization etc. M20.
Observer The growing run-down of necessary social services.
run-downness [-n-n-] noun E20.