Run around means to be constantly busy, rushing from one thing to another. Run around with someone means to spend time with a certain group of people, often with a slightly disapproving tone: the crowd he's running around with.
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run around (+ doing sth) (be very busy); run around with + people (spend time with, informal)
- I've been running around all morning trying to get everything ready for the trip.
- She spent the whole afternoon running around the office, printing forms and answering calls.
- My parents didn't like the crowd I was running around with in my last year of school.
What changed
First versionSorry I didn't call back — I was turning around all day sorting out the move.
RevisionSorry I didn't call back — I was running around all day sorting out the move.
It's easy to reach for turn around when describing a hectic day, but turn around simply means 'to turn in the opposite direction' and says nothing about being busy. When you're rushing between tasks all day, the phrase you need is run around.
Run errands names specific tasks — buying groceries, posting a parcel: I need to run a few errands after work. Run around describes the general rush itself, without listing what needs doing: I've been running around all day.
Your turn
I've been ___ all day trying to sort out the visa problems, and I still haven't finished.
Show the answer
running around — The sentence describes a whole day of rushing to sort out visa problems, so running around fits. Running off would simply mean 'escaping' and doesn't describe a busy day of errands.
Describe a day when you had to rush around doing various things. Mention at least two of the things you had to do and whether you managed everything.
Yesterday I was running around the whole afternoon, picking up the dry cleaning and queuing at the post office, but I still didn't have time to buy a birthday present.
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