Run away or runaway?
run away is a verb meaning “To flee by running”; runaway is a noun meaning “A person or animal that runs away or has run away; a person, animal, or…”. Use run away as a verb and runaway as a noun. run away is written as two words and runaway as one word; they are used differently.
What is the difference between run away and runaway?
| run away | runaway | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | verb, noun | noun, adjective |
| Meaning | To flee by running To leave home, or other place of residence, usually unannounced, or to make good on a threat, with such action usually performed by a child or juvenile | A person or animal that runs away or has run away; a person, animal, or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions A vehicle (especially, a train) that is out of control Having run away; escaped; fugitive; fleeting |
| Example | The crowd had to run away from the burning structure with only the clothes on their backs | Runaways are vulnerable to criminal exploitation |
| Forms | none | runaways |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | /ˈɹʌnəweɪ/ |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | 3.5 times per million words |
Sources: run away and runaway in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of run away and runaway
run away
- 1
To flee by running
The crowd had to run away from the burning structure with only the clothes on their backs
- 2
Alternative spelling of runaway
- 3
To leave home, or other place of residence, usually unannounced, or to make good on a threat, with such action usually performed by a child or juvenile
My parents want me to take a bath every day? Fine, I'm running away
- 4
To become a runaway. (of a device or vehicle)
The train's brakes failed and it ran away
runaway
- 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
Having run away; escaped; fugitive; fleeting
a runaway thief
- 3
A vehicle (especially, a train) that is out of control
- 4
Having escaped from the control of the rider or driver
a runaway donkey
- 5
An object or process that is out of control or out of equilibrium
A trim runaway can make an airplane almost impossible to fly
- 6
Pertaining to or accomplished by running away or eloping
a runaway marriage
- 7
The act of running away, especially of a horse or teams
- 8
Easily won, as a contest
a runaway victory at the polls
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, run away or runaway?
run away is a phrase, which the list of single words does not count; runaway 3.5 times per million words.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search run away vs runaway?
“run away vs runaway” is searched about 70 times a month on Google and 10 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“runaway vs run away”, “run away or runaway”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.