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Synonyms

run away

British  

verb

  1. to take flight; escape

  2. to go away; depart

  3. (of a horse) to gallop away uncontrollably

    1. to abscond or elope with

      he ran away with his boss's daughter

    2. to make off with; steal

    3. to escape from the control of

      his enthusiasm ran away with him

    4. to win easily or be assured of victory in (a competition)

      he ran away with the race
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

    1. a person or animal that runs away

    2. ( as modifier )

      a runaway horse

  2. the act or an instance of running away

  3. (modifier) occurring as a result of the act of eloping

    a runaway wedding

  4. (modifier) (of a race, victory, etc) easily won

    a runaway ten-shot victory
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
run away Idioms  

  1. Flee, escape, as in Our dog is no watchdog; he runs away from strangers , or Our six-year-old said he'd run away from home . [Late 1300s]

  2. Also, run off . Leave secretly, especially to elope, as in She ran away from home when she was only thirteen , or They ran off to Maryland and got married by a justice of the peace . [Early 1600s]

  3. it won't run away . An object, activity, or issue will not disappear, as in You can leave, but when you come back the mess in the kitchen will still be there—it won't run away, you know! This jocular assurance of permanence dates from the late 1800s. Also see run away with .

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.

"If there's a strike, the people around me could run away and leave me behind; I can't get up and move if no one helps me," said 62-year-old Fatima Nazli, who uses a wheelchair.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

Mr. Lai said he couldn’t run away from a city that had given him everything.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

A police dog and its handler searched marshland near to London Road and found a man who tried to run away but was stopped by the canine.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

Does the district court make factual findings that are actually well-supported by the record and would be difficult for the Supreme Court to run away from?

From Slate • Jan. 16, 2026

“Friends talk to each other! They don’t run away when things get hard. You left me behind, Poppy!”

From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega

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.