Definition of "runaway" []

• A person or animal that has run away. (noun)
• Something that has escaped control or proper confinement. (noun)
• Informal An easy victory. (noun)
• Escaping or having escaped restraint, captivity, or control: runaway horses; runaway children. (adjective)
• Out of control: a runaway car; runaway inflation. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "And you know, the left is cheering this as finally we're enforcing the law against what they call runaway companies, moving to other parts of the country."
• "ELLIOTT: Holton says it's time to stop policing the world and slow down what he describes as a runaway entitlement system."
• "Speaking to a record gathering at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, both decried what they termed a runaway expansion of government under President Barack Obama."