The idiom “in the running” means being a candidate or still competing. It originated from horse racing and is now used for any type of competition. It can refer to individuals or organizations, and has an opposite corollary, “out of the running.”
The English idiom “in the running” refers to someone who is a candidate for something or who is still entering a competition. This general meaning is used in specific ways to refer to suitability. The phrase “in the running” falls into the category of “competition metaphors,” where many different idioms refer to concrete or abstract forms of competition in ordinary English.
Historians of the word date this phrase to the second half of the 19th century. Many believe the term originated from horse racing, where horses that were still eligible to win the race were “in the race.” Over time, this phrase has become abstract to refer to any kind of fitness in a competition, whether it’s referring to something physical, like a race, or some more nebulous challenge.
This idiomatic phrase is often used in modern English to refer to an individual. For example, someone who is a member of a company who is competing for a promotion within a department might be “running” for the best job when he or she is being considered alongside other colleagues. Similarly, someone who is involved in a lottery or raffle may be “in the running” to receive a prize.
In addition to talking about individuals, English speakers using the above phrase could be referring to various corporate parties or organizations. For example, if you intend to grant a grant to only one of several municipalities, each of those individual municipalities that have requested it could be said to be “in the running” to receive the grant. The phrase doesn’t automatically indicate competitive effort between eligible parties, it’s just a way of talking about general eligibility.
The above sentence is an idiom that has its opposite corollary. English speakers also commonly refer to someone who is “out of the running.” Use of this phrase would indicate that someone is ineligible or not participating in a particular competition. This is similar to other idioms, such as “out of order,” which indicate that someone is indisposed. Both opposing sentences are commonly used in interrogative form, as well as in affirmative or negative statements: e.g., in, “she’s in the race” and, “she’s not in the race”, as well as, “she’s out of the race” and, “she’s not out of the running.”
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
