a horse or team that has broken away from control.
the act of running away.
a decisive or easy victory.
a young person, especially a teenager, who has run away from home.
adjective
having run away; escaped; fugitive.
(of a horse or other animal) having escaped from the control of the rider or driver.
pertaining to or accomplished by running away or eloping: a runaway marriage.
easily won, as a contest: a runaway victory at the polls.
unchecked; rampant: runaway prices.
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.
Origin of runaway
First recorded in 1505–15; noun, adj. use of verb phrase run away
SYNONYMS FOR runaway
9 absolute, complete, perfect.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR runaway ON THESAURUS.COM
Words nearby runaway
run around in circles, run around like a chicken, run around with, run a temperature, run a tight ship, runaway, runaway star, run away with, runback, run batted in, run by someone
The problem is that runaway fires in overgrown forests don’t achieve the same results as controlled burns.
Suppressing fires has failed. Here’s what California needs to do instead.|James Temple|September 17, 2020|MIT Technology Review
It’s unlikely that any big automaker can remain a runaway growth machine after decades in the business, but we’ll give Tesla a generous multiple of 25 in 2030, meaning that investors still expect it to wax at better-than-industry rates.
Tesla has a business model problem: It can never justify its current stock price by simply making cars|Shawn Tully|August 29, 2020|Fortune
Antarctica’s existing ice sheets, for example, could theoretically limit runaway greenhouse warming.
A rainforest once grew near the South Pole|Carolyn Gramling|May 11, 2020|Science News For Students
In other words, runaway defense spending is a bipartisan problem.
Merry Christmas, Defense Contractors!|Veronique de Rugy|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But the runaway best example of the game is another cluster of British luxury vehicles—Range Rover, Land Rover and Jaguar.
Nationalism on Four Wheels|Clive Irving|October 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Runaway corporations benefited from those policies but want U.S. companies to pay their share of the tab.
The Democrats Have Found a New Boogeyman, and It’s Burger King|Tim Mak|August 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Godzilla and X-Men: Days of Future Past both did well at the box office, but neither were runaway success stories.
Is the Summer Blockbuster Dead?|Kevin Fallon|July 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Kelly Michaels became a mini-celebrity on release, a victim of runaway investigators.
How the ‘Witch Hunt’ Myth Undermined American Justice|Jason Berry|July 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If the man be truly a runaway, said Sir Walter, and of an able body, he will be right welcome; for we have but few labourers.
Hildebrand|Anonymous
This runaway marriage would be a dreadful dishonour to me, if it were followed by a life of lazy dependence on my wife's fortune.
John Marchmont's Legacy, Volumes I-III|Mary E. Braddon
Reason: an exasperated parent who had followed from Meru for the purpose of reclaiming his runaway offspring.
The Land of Footprints|Stewart Edward White
There has been an escape, and a sharp watch is held to keep the runaway in the town.
Blackwoods Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 59, No. 366, April, 1846|Various
On the up trip, the Governor's party met one man, who afterward proved to be a runaway thief from Detroit.
The Country of the Neutrals|James H. Coyne
British Dictionary definitions for runaway
run away
verb(intr, adverb)
to take flight; escape
to go away; depart
(of a horse) to gallop away uncontrollably
run away with
to abscond or elope withhe ran away with his boss's daughter
to make off with; steal
to escape from the control ofhis enthusiasm ran away with him
to win easily or be assured of victory in (a competition)he ran away with the race
nounrunaway
a person or animal that runs away
(as modifier)a runaway horse
the act or an instance of running away
(modifier)occurring as a result of the act of elopinga runaway wedding
(modifier)(of a race, victory, etc) easily wona runaway ten-shot victory
Flee, escape, as in Our dog is no watchdog; he runs away from strangers, or Our six-year-old said he'd run away from home. [Late 1300s]
2
Also, run off. Leave secretly, especially to elope, as in She ran away from home when she was only thirteen, or They ran off to Maryland and got married by a justice of the peace. [Early 1600s]
3
it won't run away. An object, activity, or issue will not disappear, as in You can leave, but when you come back the mess in the kitchen will still be there—it won't run away, you know! This jocular assurance of permanence dates from the late 1800s. Also see run away with.