runaway

noun

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.”

   “Thou runaway, thou coward, art thou fled?”

   “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.”

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 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.”

   “Runaways are rendered impossible, as the machine can be instantly stopped by means of a double brake connected with the driver's seat”

   “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.”

   “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.”

   “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 [...].”

3. (attributive, usually)An object or process that is out of control or out of equilibrium.

   “On the chart, the start of a runaway is marked by a box”

   “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.”

   “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”

   “Where practicable, this passive measure reduces the consequences of a runaway.”

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.”

5. An overwhelming victory.

   “The home side won in a runaway.”

adj

1. (not-comparable)Having run away; escaped; fugitive; fleeting.

   “a runaway thief”

2. (not-comparable)Having run away; escaped; fugitive; fleeting.

   “a runaway donkey”

3. (not-comparable)Having run away; escaped; fugitive; fleeting.

   “a runaway marriage”

4. (not-comparable)Easily won, as a contest.

   “a runaway victory at the polls”

5. (not-comparable)Accelerating out of control.

   “a runaway train”

   “a runaway greenhouse effect”

   “These epics nearly always had runaway trains, nincompoops floundering with the controls and a collapsed bridge just ahead!”

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.”