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

They bent recruiting rules, built giant stadiums and were criticized for runaway spending.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

She was a runaway at 14, lived on the streets and with foster families.

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Interrupting a runaway process There are several small-molecule drugs that show potential for slowing cyst expansion.

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And conventional wisdom might give the edge to Netflix, whose runaway success as a streamer has made it the new king of Hollywood.

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“I look like a runaway cabin boy,” she thought.

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Related Words

• rampant 
• unbridled 
• unchecked 
• uncontrolled 
• unrestrained