run something to ground

Meanings

1. 1phraseidiomfigurative

   To search for something or someone until you finally find it, especially after a long or difficult hunt.

   Grammar: Takes an object between run and to ground: run the error to ground.

   Patterns

   • run something to ground
   • run someone to ground

   The reporter finally ran the source of the rumor to ground.

   Police ran the stolen car to ground in a field outside town.

   I ran the missing document to ground in an old archive.

2. 2phraseidiomold-fashioned

   To chase an animal, especially a fox, until it hides in its hole or burrow.

   Grammar: The literal hunting sense; usually passive in older writing.

   Patterns

   • run a fox to ground

   The hounds ran the fox to ground at the edge of the wood.

   After a long chase, they ran the animal to ground.

   Hunters in the old stories ran the fox to ground.

Word forms

Common combinations

finally run to ground

The leak was finally run to ground after weeks of searching.

run a rumor to ground

We tried to run the rumor to ground but found no source.

run a culprit to ground

Detectives ran the culprit to ground in another city.

run an error to ground

She ran the bug to ground after hours of testing.

be run to ground

The missing files were run to ground in a storage room.

Synonyms and how they differ

track down

Track down is more everyday and neutral, while run to ground suggests a longer, more determined pursuit.

hunt down

Hunt down implies a determined chase, often of a person, but not necessarily the successful corner implied by run to ground.

locate

Locate is a plain, formal word for finding something, with none of the sense of a difficult chase.

unearth

Unearth suggests discovering something hidden or buried, while run to ground suggests pursuing something that has been avoiding capture.

Opposites

Word family

ground noun

the earth's surface, also a hiding place for a hunted animal

go to ground phrase

to hide, especially to avoid being found

run down phrasal verb

to find or catch something or someone after searching

Commonly confused: run something to ground or run into the ground?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “run something to ground”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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