run-in

Definition

An encounter; a scrape or brush, especially one involving trouble or difficulty.

Etymology

Derived from the verb run into. For the meaning "end-phase", it presumably comes a marathon race, where in the final part the runners run into the stadium and complete a lap.

Example Sentences

• "During that time he had two more run-ins with the law. One involved the sale of stolen property. The other was for a series of hot checks."
• "Yahoo Sport's Leicester City blogger Helen Nutter gets ready for the Premier League run-in knowing her side - incredibly - still have a great chance of being crowned champions"
• "But despite its plague of tunnels, the run-in on this route is of unusual interest to the locomotive enthusiast: besides the hordes of self-important saddle-tanks shunting in the extensive yards, there was at one time the chance of seeing those slender little North London engines, with their large outside cylinders and no visible storage place for coal, and also an occasional South Eastern locomotive sporting a lot of polished brass."