idiom / phrasal expression · neutral
run riot
/rʌn ˈraɪət/run·RI·ot
speakingtask2
to spread or act uncontrollably; (of ideas or feelings) to run wild; (of people) to behave in a riotous, uncontrolled way
Examples
“After the announcement rumours ran riot on social media.”
“Without clear rules, students' imaginations ran riot in the project.”
“When the match ended in controversy the crowd ran riot and police had to intervene.”
Band 8 sentence
“Once misinformation begins to run riot online, restoring public trust becomes extremely difficult.”
Collocations
- run riot on social media / run riot in the press
Word family
riot nounriotous adjective
Common mistakes
run wilded→run riot / run wild
make riot→run riot
Say it for a higher band
5get out of control→6run wild→7+run riot
Synonyms
run wild
Easily confused
run wild
“With no supervision, children's imaginations ran wild.”
Related words
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In run …
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