runaway
Americannoun
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runaways
plural
adjective
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having run away; escaped; fugitive.
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(of a horse or other animal) having escaped from the control of the rider or driver.
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pertaining to or accomplished by running away or eloping.
a runaway marriage.
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easily won, as a contest.
a runaway victory at the polls.
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unchecked; rampant.
runaway prices.
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Informal. deserting or revolting against one's group, duties, expected conduct, or the like, especially to establish or join a rival group, change one's life drastically, etc..
The runaway delegates nominated their own candidate.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of runaway
First recorded in 1505–15; noun, adj. use of verb phrase run away
Explanation
A runaway is a person — often a child or teenager — who leaves home. A runaway is usually unhappy at home, and most runaways have families that are desperate to find them. A kid who grabs some snacks and hides out all night in his neighbor's tree house is one kind of runaway — a more serious runaway is a teenager who hitchhikes to a city and lives on the street or in a shelter. You can also use the word as an adjective to mean "out of control," like a runaway car rolling down a hill with no driver, or a movie that's a runaway success, making more money than anyone thought possible.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
When “It Ends” premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March 2025, it was not exactly the runaway darling of the year’s programming.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
He was seen as largely responsible for China's "soft landing" -- reducing inflation without causing a recession -- after it experienced runaway growth following Deng's renewed push to open up in the 1990s.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
Ohtani was considered the runaway MVP favorite early in the year, while his pitching performance also put him in the Cy Young conversation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
For Dr Agata Chrzanowksa, an art historian and tour guide in Florence, the hills and mountains north of the city are "a very good spot to runaway from the heat" for those driving.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
It was that of a runaway, one unsure of the latest turn in the escape.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
She also had a stuffed kitten named John Grady Cole, the hero’s name in McCarthy’s “The Border Trilogy,” which follows three runaways who have a stolen Colt revolver.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2024
The runaways were safely shepherded back to their owner.
From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2023
But despite those reports, deputies routinely returned runaways to their schools without effectively investigating or reporting concerns to state welfare workers.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 23, 2023
Police said the boys were runaways from a residential care facility in San Dimas, which is about 46 miles east of Santa Monica.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 8, 2023
The number of runaways from Maryland kept increasing.
From "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
