run its course

End on schedule

To run its course is to proceed through a natural progression until completion or resolution.

Illnesses run their course when they pass without intervention.

Relationships run their course when they end naturally.

The phrase implies patience—letting something finish on its own timeline rather than forcing an outcome: Let the fever run its course.

Related

end · terminate · final chapter · fade · slow fade · lifecycle · maturation · run out · denouement · progression · impermanence · play out · ride it out · see it through · let it go · trajectory · natural order · time will tell

Categories
Opposites
completion vs. interruption

run its coursecut short

End before completion

interrupted · aborted · halted · nipped in the bud · curtailed

endpoint vs. origin

run its coursebeginning

Initial stage of something

start · commencing · kicking off · starting out · nascent

resolution vs. continuation

run its courseongoing

In progress now

in progress · unresolved · continuing · dragging on · lingering

Family

course, runs, running, runner, runners, courses, coursed, coursing, courser

Familiarity
Top 50,000
Profile
Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Abstract · Everyday, not technical · Rated G