runaway

American  

[ruhn-uh-wey] / ˈrʌn əˌweɪ /

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.

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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.

Etymology

Origin of runaway

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

Example Sentences

The play, which opened Tuesday at the Ahmanson Theatre, was a runaway hit at the 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

At that time, the ECB faced fierce criticism for failing to hike borrowing costs quickly enough to tame runaway price rises.

From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026

Eventually the rate of inflation crested at a record 13.5% in 1980, capping off nearly a decade of runaway prices.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 24, 2026

Defeat would put make England more distant outsiders for their final-day meeting with runaway leaders France and raise the prospect of a first single-win Six Nations campaign.

From BBC • Mar. 2, 2026

Operators needed to get water into the reactor to slow the runaway reactions.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland

Related Words

• rampant
• unbridled
• unchecked
• uncontrolled
• unrestrained