runaway
/ˈɹʌnəweɪ/
runaway noun: a person or animal that runs away or has run away; a person, animal, or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions.
Noun
runaway (plural runaways)
- 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.
- Thou runaway, thou coward, art thou fled?c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First...
- 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
- Runaways are rendered impossible, as the machine can be instantly stopped by means of a double brake connected with the driver's seat1886, John H. Cooper, “Handling Grain in California”, in Transactions, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, volume 7
- An object or process that is out of control or out of equilibrium.
- A trim runaway can make an airplane almost impossible to fly.
- On the chart, the start of a runaway is marked by a box1989, Gerald Appel, Winning market systems
- 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
- An overwhelming victory.
- The home side won in a runaway.
Adjective
runaway (not comparable)
- Having run away; escaped; fugitive; fleeting.
- a runaway thief
- Easily won, as a contest.
- a runaway victory at the polls
- Accelerating out of control.
- a runaway train
- a runaway greenhouse effect
- Unchecked; rampant.
- runaway prices
- 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.
runaway meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
runaway in Hindi
- a person or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions
- भगोड़ा bhagoṛā
runaway in Tamil
- ஒடிப்போன
runaway in Urdu
- an object or process that is out of control
- بے قابو be qābo
runaway in Bengali
- having run away
- ফেরার ferar
More languagesFewer languages
- runaway in Malayalam
- അഭയാർത്ഥി, കടന്നുകളയുന്ന ആളോ കുതിരയോ
- runaway in Kannada
- ಹತೋಟಿ ಮೀರಿದ, ಅಂಕೆತಪ್ಪಿದ, ಓಡಿಹೋದ, ತಪ್ಪಿಸಿಕೊಂಡ
- runaway in Punjabi
- ਭੱਜਣ ਵਾਲਾ
- runaway in Gujarati
- ભાગેડુ
- runaway in Arabic
- آبِق ʔābiq
Examples of runaway in a sentence
- Notice was immediately given by telegraph to London and other stations; and while the line was kept clear, an engine and other arrangements were prepared as a buttress to receive the runaway.1850, “The Romance of the Electric Telegraph”, in New monthly magazine, volume 41:
- We hear many ideas advanced as to the cause of engines running away, more especially in electric stations, while the wonder is that the runaways are so few.1897, Editor American Machinist, “Runaway Engines and Governors”, in American machinist:
- Just south of Wamphray Station, they overtook the runaway.1950 January, David L. Smith, “A Runaway at Beattock”, in Railway Magazine, page 54:
- The former Midland main lines out of Bristol were blocked for more than 18hr after a freight train runaway soon after midnight on February 7.1962 April, “Motive power miscellany: Western Region”, in Modern Railways, page 280:
Forms of runaway
| plural | runaways |
|---|---|
| alternative form | run-away |
Origin of runaway
Deverbal from run away.
Words formed from runaway
Phrases with runaway
Questions about runaway
- What does runaway mean?
- Runaway means a person or animal that runs away or has run away; a person, animal, or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions.
- What is runaway in Hindi?
- Runaway in Hindi is भगोड़ा (bhagoṛā). See Runaway meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use runaway in a sentence?
- Notice was immediately given by telegraph to London and other stations; and while the line was kept clear, an engine and other arrangements were prepared as a buttress to receive the runaway.
- What part of speech is runaway?
- Runaway can be a noun or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce runaway?
- Runaway is pronounced /ˈɹʌnəweɪ/.
- What is the plural of runaway?
- The plural of runaway is runaways.
Words near runaway in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: runaway (page history and authors); runaway (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); runaway (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); runaway (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); runaway (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); runaway (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-runaway.wav.
Cite this entry: “runaway.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/runaway. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.