run-away

Noun

runaway (plural runaways)

1. A person or animal that runs away or has run away; a person, animal, or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions.
   • Runaways are vulnerable to criminal exploitation.
2. A vehicle (especially, a train) that is out of control.
   • On New Year's Day, 1850, a catastrophe, which it is fearful to contemplate, was averted by the aid of the telegraph. A collision had occurred to an empty train at Gravesend; and the driver having leaped from his engine, the latter started alone at full speed to London. Notice was immediately given...1850, “The Romance of the Electric Telegraph”, in New monthly magazine, volume 41
3. (attributive, figuratively, usually) An object or process that is out of control or out of equilibrium.
   • A trim runaway can make an airplane almost impossible to fly.
4. The act of running away, especially of a horse or teams.
   • The drivers were generally boys […] They would stop the team when other boats passed and at locks while waiting for the water to rise or fall. They could also be useful in preventing or stopping runaways. Horses were easily startled and might bolt off the tow path or into the canal itself.2012, John H. White, Jr., Wet Britches and Muddy Boots, page 171
5. (figuratively) An overwhelming victory.
   • The home side won in a runaway.

See all 12 meanings of runaway