Run something by someone means to tell a person your idea so you can hear what they think. Can I run something by you? opens countless conversations at work. Another common use: Run that by me again, which means Say that again, I didn't follow.
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run an idea by someone; run it by me; ran it by; have run it by
- Can I run a quick idea by you?
- We ran the schedule by the volunteers before publishing it.
- Please run that by me again; I missed the last part.
What changed
First versionCan I run by you my idea?
RevisionCan I run my idea by you?
After tell or show the person often comes first: tell you my idea. So run by you my idea seems logical. But here the order is run + idea + by + person: run my idea by you, and with a pronoun, run it by you.
Ask for feedback is direct and more formal. Run by is light and casual: show a draft and hear a quick reaction. Sign off on means officially approve: you ran it by me, but the director still has to sign off on it.
Your turn
Choose the preposition: Before we decide, let's run the plan ___ Maya.
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by — The person in this expression comes after by: run the plan by Maya. To seems natural because we explain things to people, but run something to someone isn't used.
Ask a colleague or friend to look at an idea before you decide anything.
Could I run the revised seating plan by you before I send it to the guests?
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