runaway

American  

[ruhn-uh-wey] / ˈrʌn əˌweɪ /

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.

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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.

Etymology

Origin of runaway

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

Example Sentences

The show was not an obvious a runaway hit.

From BBC

Then came Odermatt, the in-form Swiss who is the runaway World Cup overall leader with three downhill victories to his name this season.

From Barron's

Then came Odermatt, the in-form Swiss who is the runaway World Cup overall leader with three downhill victories to his name this season.

From Barron's

By some measures, worries about spiraling price growth were akin to those Americans experienced during the 1970s period of runaway inflation, the Cleveland Fed found.

From Barron's

The new index was widely expected to be rolled out last month, but Argentine Economy Minister Luis Caputo said recently that the government would only proceed after Milei’s measures to control runaway inflation are entrenched.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• rampant
• unbridled
• unchecked
• uncontrolled
• unrestrained