run·away
ˈrə-nə-ˌwā 
1
: one that runs away from danger, duty, or restraint : fugitive
2
: the act of running away out of control
also
: something (such as a horse) that is running out of control
3
: a one-sided or overwhelming victory
1
a
: running away : fugitive
b
: leaving to gain special advantages (such as lower wages) or avoid disadvantages (such as governmental or union restrictions)
runaway shipping firms
a runaway shop
2
: accomplished by elopement or during flight
3
: won by or having a long lead
a runaway success
also
: extremely successful
a runaway bestseller
4
: subject to uncontrolled changes
runaway inflation
5
: being or operating out of control
a runaway oil well
a runaway nuclear reactor
ran away; run away; running away; runs away
1
a
: to leave quickly in order to avoid or escape something
b
: to leave home
especially
: elope
3
: to gain a substantial lead : win by a large margin
see also run away with
Synonyms
Examples of runaway in a Sentence
Adjective
The play was a runaway success.
a region plagued by runaway suburban sprawl
Verb
ran away from an unhappy marriage
the child runs away from large dogs
Recent Examples on the Web
Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Mar. 2024
Rachel Rios Executive Director of La Familia Counseling Center, Inc.
Background: Rios, a Sacramento native, started her career at local nonprofits focused on substance abuse and youth runaways.
—Cathie Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 29 Feb. 2024
When Reena’s father and her uncle Raj (Anoop Desai) come to file a missing persons report, Cam is ready at first — along with the rest of the department, including her adoptive father (Matt Craven), the police chief — to write her off as a runaway.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
His latest novel follows the misadventures of a runaway named Jim and his young companion Huckleberry in the antebellum American South.
—Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2024
Here's how much snow has fallen in 2024 so far
The Reddit forum that Langstaff met the victim on was allegedly for runaways and there were multiple contacts between the girl and Langstaff leading up to her departure, according to the affidavit.
—Kira Caspers, The Arizona Republic, 28 Mar. 2024
Teddi told Dateline Nevaeh had run off before and was initially listed as a runaway.
—Dateline Nbc, NBC News, 6 Mar. 2024
What had been a UCLA runaway was suddenly tilting heavily in the other direction as Marquette took a 50-45 lead before Bruins freshman guard Ilane Fibleuil buried a three-pointer.
—Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2023
In one case in 2022, a 15-year-old runaway broke into a nearby residence and cut the throat of a 77-year-old woman.
—The Indianapolis Star, 5 Mar. 2024
Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, 10 May 2024
Rabe has been known to sponsor bills around housing policy, and last year sponsored legislation to shield youth and crisis centers from criminal charges for sheltering runaway youth and block the public release of eviction records if the entire eviction case has been dismissed.
—Nick Rosenberger, Idaho Statesman, 10 May 2024
In 1975, farmers chasing a runaway pig discovered human skeletal remains in a remote area near Meteor City, a historic trading post 40 miles east of Flagstaff.
—Coleby Phillips, The Arizona Republic, 9 May 2024
The action-comedy, which celebrates its 25th anniversary on May 7, starred Fraser, now 55, as dashing adventurer Rick O'Connell and became a runaway box office success in the summer of 1999.
—Jack Smart, Peoplemag, 7 May 2024
Chef-owner Erin French's life story, a tale of hardship resolved, has made the Lost Kitchen into something like the Wild of the restaurant world—a runaway best seller about female grit.
—Kevin West, Travel + Leisure, 5 May 2024
In 2017, Rihanna launched Fenty Beauty to fill the gap in foundation shades, leading to runaway success online and in stores.
—Kat Tenbarge, NBC News, 30 Apr. 2024
The closest the movie gets to unadulterated sweetness is in its framing device involving an adorable runaway boy (Isaac Bae).
—Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Related Stories Also playing a factor in the decline were reductions in content spend across most major studios, series cancellations and runaway production.
—Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Apr. 2024
Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 May 2024
Bonnet, who had no sailing experience, didn’t just run away from his wife.
—Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 May 2024
According to police accounts, the boy revealed a gun when approached by officers and attempted to run away.
—Leo Bertucci, The Courier-Journal, 14 May 2024
The quilt depicts a female figure who appears to be running away from the pressure imposed on women by religion and motherhood.
—Ray Mark Rinaldi, The Denver Post, 14 May 2024
At first, the teenagers ran away from the bus, but the sheriff’s department and the Glendale Police Department responded and arrested two teenagers.
—Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2024
The driver and a passenger, both teen boys, got out of the stolen and tried to run away but were quickly detained by officers.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 13 May 2024
The teenage child of former Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield has been located safely after having run away from home, officials announced Sunday.
—Rebecca Cohen, NBC News, 28 Apr. 2024
Others ran away as baton-wielding officers pushed into the hordes that numbered more than 1,000 people.
—Ryan Pearson, Fortune, 3 May 2024
Noun
The women in the sketch were part of a controversial group known as camp followers: wives, widows, runaways and others who marched with the Continental Army.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Mar. 2024
Rachel Rios Executive Director of La Familia Counseling Center, Inc.
Background: Rios, a Sacramento native, started her career at local nonprofits focused on substance abuse and youth runaways.
—Cathie Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 29 Feb. 2024
When Reena’s father and her uncle Raj (Anoop Desai) come to file a missing persons report, Cam is ready at first — along with the rest of the department, including her adoptive father (Matt Craven), the police chief — to write her off as a runaway.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
His latest novel follows the misadventures of a runaway named Jim and his young companion Huckleberry in the antebellum American South.
—Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2024
Here's how much snow has fallen in 2024 so far
The Reddit forum that Langstaff met the victim on was allegedly for runaways and there were multiple contacts between the girl and Langstaff leading up to her departure, according to the affidavit.
—Kira Caspers, The Arizona Republic, 28 Mar. 2024
Teddi told Dateline Nevaeh had run off before and was initially listed as a runaway.
—Dateline Nbc, NBC News, 6 Mar. 2024
What had been a UCLA runaway was suddenly tilting heavily in the other direction as Marquette took a 50-45 lead before Bruins freshman guard Ilane Fibleuil buried a three-pointer.
—Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2023
In one case in 2022, a 15-year-old runaway broke into a nearby residence and cut the throat of a 77-year-old woman.
—The Indianapolis Star, 5 Mar. 2024
Adjective
The plan from Argentina's controversial new leader to tackle runaway inflation may be working.
—Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, 10 May 2024
Rabe has been known to sponsor bills around housing policy, and last year sponsored legislation to shield youth and crisis centers from criminal charges for sheltering runaway youth and block the public release of eviction records if the entire eviction case has been dismissed.
—Nick Rosenberger, Idaho Statesman, 10 May 2024
In 1975, farmers chasing a runaway pig discovered human skeletal remains in a remote area near Meteor City, a historic trading post 40 miles east of Flagstaff.
—Coleby Phillips, The Arizona Republic, 9 May 2024
The action-comedy, which celebrates its 25th anniversary on May 7, starred Fraser, now 55, as dashing adventurer Rick O'Connell and became a runaway box office success in the summer of 1999.
—Jack Smart, Peoplemag, 7 May 2024
Chef-owner Erin French's life story, a tale of hardship resolved, has made the Lost Kitchen into something like the Wild of the restaurant world—a runaway best seller about female grit.
—Kevin West, Travel + Leisure, 5 May 2024
In 2017, Rihanna launched Fenty Beauty to fill the gap in foundation shades, leading to runaway success online and in stores.
—Kat Tenbarge, NBC News, 30 Apr. 2024
The closest the movie gets to unadulterated sweetness is in its framing device involving an adorable runaway boy (Isaac Bae).
—Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Related Stories Also playing a factor in the decline were reductions in content spend across most major studios, series cancellations and runaway production.
—Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Apr. 2024
Verb
The story flashes back to his younger, unmoored self (Jacob Elordi) who stumbles into a career as a documentarian and travels to Canada under the auspices of dodging the Vietnam draft, but is revealed to be running away from even more responsibilities.
—Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 May 2024
Bonnet, who had no sailing experience, didn’t just run away from his wife.
—Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 May 2024
According to police accounts, the boy revealed a gun when approached by officers and attempted to run away.
—Leo Bertucci, The Courier-Journal, 14 May 2024
The quilt depicts a female figure who appears to be running away from the pressure imposed on women by religion and motherhood.
—Ray Mark Rinaldi, The Denver Post, 14 May 2024
At first, the teenagers ran away from the bus, but the sheriff’s department and the Glendale Police Department responded and arrested two teenagers.
—Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2024
The driver and a passenger, both teen boys, got out of the stolen and tried to run away but were quickly detained by officers.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 13 May 2024
The teenage child of former Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield has been located safely after having run away from home, officials announced Sunday.
—Rebecca Cohen, NBC News, 28 Apr. 2024
Others ran away as baton-wielding officers pushed into the hordes that numbered more than 1,000 people.
—Ryan Pearson, Fortune, 3 May 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'runaway.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near runaway
Cite this Entry
“Runaway.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/runaway. Accessed 19 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
runaway
1 of 3 noun
run·away
ˈrən-ə-ˌwā
1
: a person who runs away : fugitive
2
: the act of running away out of control
also
: something (as a horse) that is running out of control
runaway
2 of 3 adjective1
: running away : fugitive
2
: being out of control
run away
3 of 3 verbˌrən-ə-ˈwā
1
: to leave in a hurry especially to escape from danger or confinement
2
: to leave home
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