run circles around (Meaning)

to be current, a track or guide on which something runs, a continuous series especially of similar things, to put forward as a candidate for office, to employ or supervise in espionage, an inclined course (as for skiing), to discharge fluid (as pus or serum), a sustained usually aggressive effort (as to win or obtain something), to be in charge of, to provide assistance by or as if by clearing a path through obstructions, to utilize a running play on offense, to go in pursuit of, the use of machinery for a single set of processing procedures, regular course or trip, to carry in a printed medium, to go rapidly or hurriedly, a quickened gallop, operate sense 1, to run on or over in athletic competition, exhausted or winded from running, cost sense 1, turn, rotate, to present to (as for evaluation), to melt and cast in a mold, to prepare by running a faucet, an act or the action of running, pursue, chase, to go at a pace faster than a walk, to work or take effect unfavorably to, to approach running out of, to flow rapidly or under pressure, to occur again and again, to win all remaining contests, to lie in or take a certain direction, to alter by addition, to use up an available supply, a number of rapid small dance steps executed in even tempo, to sink all remaining shots without missing in pool, the usual or normal kind, contain, assay, to carry (the football) on a running play, to mark out, to remain of a specified size, amount, character, or quality, to meet suddenly or unexpectedly, to direct the business or activities of, to go or cause to go rapidly or hurriedly, to keep company, to lie or extend in relation to something, a period of continuous operation, to become exhausted or spent, to migrate or move in schools, to dissolve and spread out, roam, rove, to occur persistently, to throw out an elongated shoot of growth, to use or exploit fully, a paint defect caused by excessive flow, to cause to pass lightly or quickly over, along, or into something, a direction of secondary or minor cleavage, to move at a fast gallop, to make (a series of counts) without a miss, a large area of land used for grazing, to give off liquid, to proceed toward expiration or effectiveness, to sing or play a musical passage quickly, the act of making successively a number of successful shots or strokes, freedom of movement, to produce by or as if by printing, to collide with, to become insufficient, to go steadily by springing steps so that both feet leave the ground for an instant in each step, to slip through or past, a way, track, or path often traveled by animals, stitch, a news reporter's regular territory, to meet by chance, a course or trip especially if mapped out and traveled with regularity, to cause or allow to go, a way, track, or path frequented by animals, to be full of or drenched with, a gain of a usually specified distance made on a running play in football, something that flows in the course of an operation or during a particular time, an enclosure for animals where they may feed or exercise, to permit (charges) to accumulate before settling, to tend to develop a specified quality or feature, to eject (a player, coach, or manager) from a game, trace entry 2 sense 2a, to pass over, across, or through, a ravel in a knitted fabric (as in hosiery) caused by the breaking of stitches, to continue in force or operation, melt, fuse, to cause to produce a flow (as of water), a fast gallop, being in a melted state, to take up with, extend sense 4, to move on or as if on wheels, to pass into a specified condition, to go back, to take to flight, the distance covered in a period of continuous traveling, such fish in the process of migration, to meet with or discover by chance, to develop rapidly in some specific direction, to have strict and exacting standards in controlling or managing something (such as a business), to seek the company of, a ravel in a knitted fabric, to pass from one state to another, a rapid passage up or down a scale in vocal or instrumental music, to accomplish or perform by or as if by running, to tend to produce or develop a specified quality or feature, to perform calculations, to run across, to exist or occur in a continuous range of variation, in haste, to move up or down a river to spawn, the period during which a machine or plant is in continuous operation, sequence sense 2b, an inclined course (as for skiing or bobsledding), to have a specified duration, extent, or length, to spread or pass quickly from point to point, to cause (an animal) to go rapidly, to be in a certain form or expression, to enter, register, or enroll as a contestant in a race, to cause to move or flow in a specified way or into a specified position, sudden heavy demands from depositors, creditors, or customers, to do something by or as if by running, to drive (livestock) especially to a grazing place, the quantity of work turned out in a continuous operation, creek sense 2, to contend in a race, to go without restraint, to make a quick, easy, or casual trip or visit, a support (such as a track, pipe, or trough) on which something runs, a score made in baseball by a base runner reaching home plate, an enclosure for domestic animals where they may feed or exercise, to migrate or move in considerable numbers, such as, to publicize widely, to enter into an election contest, to merge with, an inclined passageway, to use up, a continuous period or series especially of things of identical or similar sort, creek sense 1, to be in circulation, to be or continue to be in operation or effect, to bring to a specified condition by or as if by running, an unbroken course of performances or showings, a set of consecutive measurements, readings, or observations, a running race, operate, a score made in baseball by a runner reaching home plate safely, to have or maintain a relative position or condition (as in a race), to accompany as a valid obligation or right, to slip or go through or past, a running play, general tendency or direction, treat, process, refine, strength or ability to run, to take part in a race, made from molten material, to go back and forth, function, operate, the stern of the underwater body of a ship from where it begins to curve or slope upward and inward, to travel on in a boat, the usual or normal kind, character, type, or group, the direction in which a vein of ore lies, the distance covered in a period of continuous traveling or sailing, something that flows especially during a certain time, an annual migration of fish up a river especially to spawn, having made a migration or spawning run, to provide pasturage for (livestock), to occur in profusion, to continue in force, operation, or production, to keep or maintain (livestock) on or as if on pasturage, to go in urgency or distress, to roll forward rapidly or freely, to continue to accrue or become payable, diarrhea, to pass or slide freely, to discharge liquid (such as pus or serum), flee, retreat, escape, to show marked superiority over, to follow the trail of backward, to act wildly or without restraint, to talk excessively or foolishly, to go up a river to spawn, to lead winning cards of (a suit) successively, a group of fish migrating especially to spawn, a migration of fish (as up or down a river) especially to spawn, to go faster than a walk, ranch, station, to have a fever, a horizontal distance (such as that covered by a flight of steps), to cause to be treated or operated on, spread, dissolve, to cause to penetrate or enter, to be or cause to be a candidate in an election, to ravel lengthwise, to pass over or traverse with speed, the horizontal distance from one point to another, to make oneself liable to, freedom of movement in or access to a place or area, smuggle, to cause or allow (a vehicle or a vessel) to go in a specified manner or direction, to make (a golf ball) roll forward after alighting, to be in a certain form or order, to change or transform into, to move or allow to move freely about, to be in a certain order of succession, to move as a liquid, persistent and heavy demands from depositors, creditors, or customers, to cause to pass, to mount up to, in retreat, the score thus made, a serious challenge to one's supremacy, to cause to collide, to sail before the wind in distinction from reaching or sailing close-hauled