runaway

[ruhn-uh-wey]

noun

1. a person who runs away; fugitive; deserter.

2. a horse or team that has broken away from control.

3. the act of running away.

4. a decisive or easy victory.

5. a young person, especially a teenager, who has run away from home.

adjective

1. having run away; escaped; fugitive.

2. (of a horse or other animal) having escaped from the control of the rider or driver.

3. pertaining to or accomplished by running away or eloping.

   a runaway marriage.

4. easily won, as a contest.

   a runaway victory at the polls.

   Synonyms: complete, absolute

5. unchecked; rampant.

   runaway prices.

6. 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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of runaway¹

First recorded in 1505–15; noun, adj. use of verb phrase run away

Example Sentences

Student-loan reform may help at the margins but lasting relief requires tackling runaway education costs, and families developing and sticking to financial strategies to build real security.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

The current Saudi strategy marks a contrast from the years under Joe Biden, when his administration’s battle against rampant inflation was made much harder by runaway oil prices.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

The failure to respond decisively is the geopolitical equivalent of runaway deficit spending.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

It is no secret the S&P 500’s outsize returns have been driven by the runaway success of big tech names like Nvidia, Meta Platforms, and the other members of the Magnificent Seven.

Read more on Barron's

“When something goes wrong, you can have a runaway fire. They did a great job at getting it under control. But do we really want antiquated dirty energy in our communities?”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• rampant 
• unbridled 
• unchecked 
• uncontrolled 
• unrestrained