runaway
Americannoun
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runaways
plural
adjective
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having run away; escaped; fugitive.
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(of a horse or other animal) having escaped from the control of the rider or driver.
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pertaining to or accomplished by running away or eloping.
a runaway marriage.
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easily won, as a contest.
a runaway victory at the polls.
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unchecked; rampant.
runaway prices.
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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
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He was seen as largely responsible for China's "soft landing" -- reducing inflation without causing a recession -- after it experienced runaway growth following Deng's renewed push to open up in the 1990s.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
Like other producers, Netflix has benefited from improvements to California’s tax incentive program intended to stem so-called runaway production, though Bajaria said the program is not as “comprehensive” as it needs to be.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
For Dr Agata Chrzanowksa, an art historian and tour guide in Florence, the hills and mountains north of the city are "a very good spot to runaway from the heat" for those driving.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
These areas could represent weak points that are especially sensitive to treatments that reduce runaway gene activity or interfere with the repair of broken DNA.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 2, 2026
“I couldn’t let them say such things. They called him an abolitionist, too. Said he hides runaway slaves in his own house.”
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
A database by the Texas Runaway Slave Project, which found listings for 2,500 runaways across various Texas newspapers from the 1840s through the 1860s, also documents the frequented journey to Mexico.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2026
Finch said that since early January, his office has received reports of five runaways from the school.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 4, 2024
The runaways were safely shepherded back to their owner.
From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2023
Police said the boys were runaways from a residential care facility in San Dimas, which is about 46 miles east of Santa Monica.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 8, 2023
Quite often the masters and the overseers came back without the runaways.
From "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry
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.
