idiom / phrasal expression · neutral

run its course

UK/rʌn ɪts kɔːs/US/rʌn ɪts kɔrs/run·its·COURSE

task2speaking

to develop and finish naturally; to come to a natural end

Examples

The strike eventually ran its course and production resumed.

Let the illness run its course; rest and hydration will help recovery.

Some policies are better abandoned after they have run their course.

Band 8 sentence

Rather than intervene immediately, policymakers sometimes allow a market correction to run its course.

Collocations

  • run its course (of an illness / a policy / a trend)

Word family

course nounrun verb

Common mistakes

let it run onlet it run its course

run the courserun its course

Say it for a higher band

5end6take its course7+run its course

Synonyms

take its course

Easily confused

take its course

After months of debate they decided to let the policy take its course.

Related words

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In run …

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