phrasal verb · neutral
run rampant
/rʌn ˈræmpənt/RAMP·ant
speakingtask2
to spread or exist unchecked; be widespread and difficult to control
Examples
“After the scandal, rumours ran rampant across social media.”
“Corruption ran rampant in the department before new management took over.”
“During the power cut, opportunistic theft ran rampant in some neighbourhoods.”
Band 8 sentence
“As enforcement weakened, illegal logging ran rampant, undermining conservation efforts across the region.”
Collocations
- run rampant + through/in/among
- crime runs rampant
Word family
rampant adjrampantly adv
Common mistakes
run rampantly→run rampant
ran rampant with→ran rampant through / in
Say it for a higher band
5be widespread→6be common→7+run rampant
Synonyms
be widespread
spread unchecked
Easily confused
be rampant
“Corruption is rampant in the city.”
Related words
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In run …
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