runaway

adj

The verdict

“runaway” is uncommon French (frequency #83,340 among 507,453 “R” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#83,340
frequency rank, French
507,453
“R” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Fugueur.

Key facts for runaway
PropertyValue
Headwordrunaway
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
Letters7
Frequency rank#83,340
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “runaway” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). runaway lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

runaway is uncommon French at frequency #83,340 among 507,453 “R” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

runaway doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is runaway, spelled R-U-N-A-W-A-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Fugueur.
  2. 2
    Hors de contrôle.

Synonyms

out of control

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "runaway"?
"runaway" is spelled R-U-N-A-W-A-Y.
What does "runaway" mean?
As an adjective, "runaway" means: Fugueur.
What language does "runaway" come from?
"runaway" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “runaway”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is R-U-N-A-W-A-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Other uncommon French words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list