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

The runaway bestseller was celebrated for normalising mental health conversations and its nuanced take on inner struggles - most notably, the author's personal conflict between depressive thoughts and her appreciation for simple joys.

Read more on BBC

Hicks McTaggart’s pursuit of a runaway heiress lands him in Hungary among Nazis, British spies and many more friends and foes.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

No, not that one; it was a runaway inflatable pumpkin.

Read more on Salon

Higher levels of CO₂ help maintain photosynthesis and keep the atmosphere from leaking into space, but too much can trigger a runaway greenhouse effect or make the air toxic.

Read more on Science Daily

Student-loan reform may help at the margins but lasting relief requires tackling runaway education costs, and families developing and sticking to financial strategies to build real security.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• rampant 
• unbridled 
• unchecked 
• uncontrolled 
• unrestrained