run out of coffee

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "run out of coffee" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it when indicating that you no longer have any coffee available. Example: "I wanted to make a cup of coffee this morning, but I realized I had run out of coffee."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

6 human-written examples

The Democrats run out of coffee.

The New Yorker

This is how I look when I discover that I've run out of coffee, beer, or chocolate.

The Guardian

Put simply, this means that Switzerland would run out of coffee earlier than previously planned, should war or a natural catastrophe ever cut off its supplies.

The Washington Post

The crème brûlée is made in advance — to wield a blowtorch here would be to risk singeing a guest's hair — and so lacks crunch, and on a recent evening the restaurant had simply run out of coffee.

The New Yorker

Or that they run out of coffee.

TechCrunch

Cafe's run out of coffee?

Vice

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

54 human-written examples

Running out of steam.

The Economist

Running out of runners.

Los Angeles Times

The worst case is running out of coffee or half-and-half.

The New Yorker

I wonder what students would do if Colombia ran out of coffee, and I'm not referring to the school.

The New York Times

"We're running out of coffee," the manager Robin Gray said, "that's how good we're doing".

The New York Times

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using the phrase "run out of coffee", consider the context. For example, "We've run out of coffee for the office" is appropriate for a business setting.

Common error

Avoid mixing tenses when describing running out of coffee. For instance, don't say "I will run out of coffee yesterday"; instead, use "I ran out of coffee yesterday" or "I will run out of coffee tomorrow."

Linguistic Context

The phrase "run out of coffee" typically functions as a verb phrase, indicating the depletion of a coffee supply. Ludwig AI confirms its correct usage in various contexts.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

News & Media

100%

Less common in

Science

0%

Formal & Business

0%

Wiki

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "run out of coffee" is a grammatically correct and usable phrase to describe the situation when there is no more coffee available. Ludwig AI analysis confirms its validity. It's most frequently found in news and media contexts. While various alternative phrases exist, such as ""have no coffee left"" or "exhaust one's coffee supply", "run out of coffee" is direct and widely understood. Remember to maintain consistent tense and ensure relevance to the context in your writing.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

be out of coffee

Common alternative using 'be' instead of 'run'.

have no coffee left

Direct and simple way of stating the absence of coffee.

have no more coffee

Similar to 'have no coffee left', but can also refer to a temporary situation.

the coffee is all gone

Informal and emphasizes that the coffee is completely finished.

exhaust one's coffee supply

Formal alternative emphasizing complete depletion of a coffee stock.

deplete coffee reserves

More formal, suggests a planned reserve that has been used up.

use up all the coffee

Emphasizes that all the coffee has been consumed or used.

reach the end of one's coffee

Suggests that the amount of coffee that was available has been completely consumed.

finish the coffee

Focuses on the action of consuming all available coffee.

lack coffee

More general way to express the absence of coffee.

FAQs

How can I use "run out of coffee" in a sentence?

You can use "run out of coffee" in sentences like: "I need to buy more because we've "run out of coffee"", or "Did we "run out of coffee" already?"

What's a less common way to say "run out of coffee"?

A less common way to say "run out of coffee" is to say that you "exhaust one's coffee supply". This is more formal.

Is it correct to say "ran out of coffee"?

Yes, "ran out of coffee" is the past tense form of "run out of coffee" and is grammatically correct. It would be used when describing a past event, such as "I "ran out of coffee" this morning".

What can I say instead of "I'm going to run out of coffee"?

You could say "I'm going to "have no coffee left" soon" or "I'm going to "be out of coffee" if I don't buy more".