Dictionary

runaway en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈɹʌnəweɪ/

Etymology

Deverbal from run away.

Meanings

1. (not-comparable) Having run away; escaped; fugitive; fleeting.
   • a runaway thief
2. (not-comparable, of a horse or other animal) Having run away; escaped; fugitive; fleeting. ▸ Having escaped from the control of the rider or driver.
   • a runaway donkey
3. (not-comparable) Having run away; escaped; fugitive; fleeting. ▸ Pertaining to or accomplished by running away or eloping.
   • a runaway marriage
4. (not-comparable) Easily won, as a contest.
   • a runaway victory at the polls
5. (not-comparable) Accelerating out of control.
   • These epics nearly always had runaway trains, nincompoops floundering with the controls and a collapsed bridge just ahead! 1958 February 14, David Gunston, “Railways on the Screen”, in Railway Magazine, page 88:
   • a runaway greenhouse effect
   • a runaway train
6. (not-comparable) Unchecked; rampant.
   • runaway prices
7. (informal, not-comparable) 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.

Forms

Deriveds

zeal without knowledge is a runaway horse · Fisherian runaway · runaway backtracking · runaway truck ramp · runaway shop · runaway diesel · runaway train · run-awayer · nonrunaway · runaway diesel engine · runaway selection · Robin runaway · runaway star · runaway bride

Relateds

run away

Translations (40)

fi hillitön (unchecked; rampant) · de abtrünnig (deserting or revolting against one's group, etc.) · de davongelaufen (having run away) · it sfuggito (having run away) · eo fuĝinta (having run away) · eo senrega (unchecked; rampant) · it imbizzarrito (unchecked; rampant) · de entlaufen (having run away) · hu elszabadult (unchecked; rampant) · it scappato (having run away) · es desbocado (unchecked; rampant) · eo dizerta (deserting or revolting against one's group, etc.) · de aus dem Ruder gelaufen (unchecked; rampant) · de davongerannt (having run away) · it fuggito (having run away) · de außer Rand und Band geraten (unchecked; rampant) · pt dissidente (deserting or revolting against one's group, etc.) · de außer Kontrolle geraten (unchecked; rampant) · pt fugitivo (having run away) · pl dysydencki (deserting or revolting against one's group, etc.) · de weggerannt (having run away) · pt desgarrado (unchecked; rampant) · pl niekontrolowany (unchecked; rampant) · pt fugido (having run away) · it dissidente (deserting or revolting against one's group, etc.) · fi karannut (having run away) · eo forfuĝinta (having run away) · bn ফেরার (having run away) · eo senbrida (unchecked; rampant) · hu szökésben lévő (having run away) · eo eskapinta (having run away) · it dissenziente (deserting or revolting against one's group, etc.) · hu elszökött (having run away) · la fugitīvus (having run away) · pt desgovernado (unchecked; rampant) · bg избягал (having run away) · fi karkuri- (deserting or revolting against one's group, etc.) · hu szökött (having run away) · pl uciekający (having run away) · de unkontrolliert (unchecked; rampant)

runaway en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈɹʌnəweɪ/

Etymology

Deverbal from run away.

Meanings

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.
   • If any man of his owne heade and without leaue, walke out of his precint and boundes, taken without the princes letters, he is broughte againe for a fugitiue or a runaway with great shame and rebuke, and is sharpely punished. 1556, Ralph Robinson, Utopia: originally printed in Latin, 1516, translation of original by Sir Thomas More, page 96:
   • 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 Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:
2. A vehicle (especially, a train) that is out of control.
   • Runaways are rendered impossible, as the machine can be instantly stopped by means of a double brake connected with the driver's seat 1886, John H. Cooper, “Handling Grain in California”, in Transactions, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, volume 7:
   • 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. "Jubilee" No. 45615 on the 4.20 p.m. Burton-Bristol freight, which conveyed a quantity of beer, lost control of its train on the 1 in 67 Fishponds incline and ran into the rear of empty stock [...]. 1962 April, “Motive power miscellany: Western Region”, in Modern Railways, page 280:
   • 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. The dim figure of Mitchell could be seen sitting huddled behind the stormboard. They shouted and whistled. He paid no attention. 1950 January, David L. Smith, “A Runaway at Beattock”, in Railway Magazine, page 54:
   • 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 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:
3. (attributive, figuratively, usually) An object or process that is out of control or out of equilibrium.
   • Where practicable, this passive measure reduces the consequences of a runaway. 2008, Francis Stoessel, Thermal safety of chemical processes, page 257:
   • On the chart, the start of a runaway is marked by a box 1989, Gerald Appel, Winning market systems:
   • The standard X-ray binary Cyg Xl, with a massive BH candidate, is a runaway, This could suggest that a SN explosion occurred. Cluster ejection to make a runaway can not be excluded although in the case of Cyg Xl, the progenitor runaway must have been a binary 2000, F. Matteucci with Franco Giovannelli, The evolution of the Milky Way, page 142:
   • An IS executive's worst nightmare, such runaways are a fact of life. Practically all large companies and organizations have experienced a runaway or are wrestling with a seriously botched project. 1993 June 15, CIO, volume 6, number 14, page 26:
   • 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.

Forms

Deriveds

nonrunaway

Translations (46)

it ingovernabile (a train that is out of control) · ro scăpat de sub control (a train that is out of control) · ro fugar (a person or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions) · nl losgeslagen (an object or process that is out of control) · ru бегле́ц (a person or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions) · ur بے قابو (an object or process that is out of control) · grc φυγάς (a person or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions) · az qaçaq (a person or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions) · fr emballement (an object or process that is out of control) · it fuggifuggi (an object or process that is out of control) · de Ausreißer (a person or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions) · pl niekontrolowana rzecz (an object or process that is out of control) · pl uciekinierka (a person or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions) · grc δραπέτις (a person or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions) · hu kirobbanó győzelem/siker (overwhelming victory) · fi karkulainen (an object or process that is out of control) · pl uciekinier (a person or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions) · it fuori controllo (a train that is out of control) · hi भगोड़ा (a person or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions) · pl miażdżące zwycięstwo (overwhelming victory) · pl niekontrolowany pociąg (a train that is out of control) · bg беглец (a person or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions) · fr fugitif (a person or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions) · ota قاچاق (a person or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions) · es fugitivo (a person or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions) · grc δραπέτης (a person or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions) · de Entlaufener (a person or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions) · pt desgovernado (a train that is out of control) · hu szökevény (a person or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions) · fi karkulainen (a person or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions) · el δραπέτης (a person or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions) · fi karkuri (a person or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions) · el δραπέτις fn (a person or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions) · nl op hol geslagen (an object or process that is out of control) · pt desgarrado (a train that is out of control) · de Entflohener (a person or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions) · it inarrestabile (a train that is out of control) · it impazzito (a train that is out of control) · bg разгром (overwhelming victory) · fi murskavoitto (overwhelming victory) · it fuggiasco (a person or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions) · ar آبِق (a person or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions) · fi karannut juna (a train that is out of control) · fr fugueur (a person or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions) · la fugitīvus (a person or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions) · sv rymling (a person or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions)