Definition of "runout" [runout]

• The act or an instance of fleeing so as to evade undesirable consequences. (noun)
• The area where one curved surface merges with another: a snowy runout at the bottom of the ski slope. (noun)
• The act or an instance of expiring or having expired: the runout of an executive contract. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The runout was an iced snowmobile track, more like a luge course than a ski slope."
• "I hope they have a runout session on "Civility in American Politics," but then, probably none of them would understand the concept."
• "More: "In the budget runout from FY09's enacted budget thru FY13 (the last year of the Bush Administration's budget), NASA's Science account (including Earth Science), INCREASES $1.224 billion while NASA's Exploration account DECREASES $3.02 billion due to the elimination of funding for the heavy-lift Ares 5 development and the Altair Lunar Lander (the budget maintains ~$25 million a year to be used for" studies ").""