run away
Britishverb
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to take flight; escape
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to go away; depart
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(of a horse) to gallop away uncontrollably
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to abscond or elope with
he ran away with his boss's daughter
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to make off with; steal
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to escape from the control of
his enthusiasm ran away with him
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to win easily or be assured of victory in (a competition)
he ran away with the race
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noun
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a person or animal that runs away
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( as modifier )
a runaway horse
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the act or an instance of running away
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(modifier) occurring as a result of the act of eloping
a runaway wedding
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(modifier) (of a race, victory, etc) easily won
a runaway ten-shot victory
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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]
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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]
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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.
In earlier 2026 head-to-heads, Seehorn won the Globe but Russell the Actor — her most prestigious prize and an indicator Seehorn has not run away with the race.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
The lottery-ticket analogy suggests that you’re letting your imagination run away with you — big time.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
“We can’t run away from it, it’s all around us,” Navarrete said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
“I’ve visited other places where animals immediately run away from people, but here that’s usually not the case,” said Gordillo.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
Often younger enslaved men tried to run away, or sometimes simply leave the plantation without permission—perhaps to visit a girlfriend at a nearby plantation.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
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.
