runaway

American  

[ruhn-uh-wey] / ˈrʌn əˌweɪ /

noun

runaways plural

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.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• runaways
  plural

Etymology

Origin of runaway

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

Explanation

A runaway is a person — often a child or teenager — who leaves home. A runaway is usually unhappy at home, and most runaways have families that are desperate to find them. A kid who grabs some snacks and hides out all night in his neighbor's tree house is one kind of runaway — a more serious runaway is a teenager who hitchhikes to a city and lives on the street or in a shelter. You can also use the word as an adjective to mean "out of control," like a runaway car rolling down a hill with no driver, or a movie that's a runaway success, making more money than anyone thought possible.

Example Sentences

Runaway inflation has caused the price of basic goods to soar and mountains of trash have piled up on the streets of Havana.

From Barron's • May 21, 2026

Runaway gains by tech firms in the early days of the internet helped draw pensions, endowments and other deep-pocketed investors to private markets.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 2, 2026

Runaway winner of the Welsh Grand National by 35 lengths on heavy ground in December, but was pulled up in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2024

Runaway fires are rare, according to studies of federal agencies and surveys of community burn groups.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 14, 2023

Runaway, lover, wife, waitress, gallery manager, nanny, and a few- more in between.

From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins

Related Words

• rampant
• unbridled
• unchecked
• uncontrolled
• unrestrained