run amok

Idioms  

1. Also,. Behave in a frenzied, out-of-control, or unrestrained manner. For example, I was afraid that if I left the toddler alone she would run amok and have a hard time calming down, or The weeds are running riot in the lawn, or The children were running wild in the playground. Amok comes from a Malay word for “frenzied” and was adopted into English, and at first spelled amuck, in the second half of the 1600s. Run riot dates from the early 1500s and derives from an earlier sense, that is, a hound's following an animal scent. Run wild alludes to an animal reverting to its natural, uncultivated state; its figurative use dates from the late 1700s.

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Example Sentences

Gossip about the celebrity guest list has run amok.

From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026

Of course, the critters escape and run amok; the show’s faster, sometimes drone-shot xenomorph chases required longer corridors than hide-and-seek-oriented “Alien’s,” some 160-feet-plus.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2026

But Beijing also can’t afford to let AI run amok.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 24, 2025

On Bourbon Street, consumerism and short-term gratification run amok: barkers hawk neon drinks, discarded plastic crunches underfoot, pounding drumbeats and flashing lights override rational thought.

From Slate • Jan. 7, 2025

Their carts bang into mine, their children run amok.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

Related Words

• defy
• overthrow
• renounce
• resist
• revolt
• secede
• take up arms