Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adverb From a particular thing or place.
  • adverb At or to a distance in space or time.
  • adverb At or by a considerable interval.
  • adverb In a different direction; aside.
  • adverb On the way.
  • adverb In or into storage or safekeeping.
  • adverb Out of existence or notice.
  • adverb So as to remove, separate, or eliminate.
  • adverb From one's possession.
  • adverb Continuously; steadily.
  • adverb Freely; at will.
  • adjective Absent.
  • adjective Distant, as in space or time.
  • adjective Played on an opponent's field or grounds.
  • adjective In golf, having the ball lying farthest from the hole and properly playing first among competitors.
  • adjective Baseball Out.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • On the way; onward; on; along: as, come away.
  • From this or that place; off: as, to go, run, flee, or sail away.
  • From one's own or accustomed place; absent: as, he is away from home; I found him away on a vacation.
  • From contact or adherence; off: as, to clear away obstructions; cut away the broken spars.
  • Removed; apart; remote: as, away from the subject.
  • From one's possession or keeping: as, to give away one's books or money; throw away a worn-out or discarded thing.
  • From one's immediate presence, attention, or use; aside: as, put or lay away your work; put away your fears; the things were laid away for the summer.
  • From this or that direction; in another or the other direction: as, turn your eyes away; he turned away.
  • At or to such a distance; distant; off: as, the village is six miles away.
  • From one state or condition to another; out of existence; to an end; to nothing: as, to pass, wear, waste, fade, pine, or die away; continual dropping wears away stone; the image soon faded away; the wind died away at sunset; she pined away with consumption.
  • Gone; vanished; departed: as, here's a health to them that's away.
  • On; continuously; steadily; without interruption: as, he worked away; he kept pegging away; and hence often as an intensive: as, to fire away, eat away, laugh away, snore away.
  • Often used elliptically, with a verb (as go, get) suppressed, and simulating an imperative: as, (go) away! (get) away! we must away; whither away so fast?
  • Away back, far back; long ago: as, away back in the years before the war; away back in 1844. [Colloq. often way back.]
  • Far away, far and away. At a great distance.
  • By far.
  • Right away, straightway; at once; immediately; forthwith.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adverb From a place; hence.
  • adverb Absent; gone; at a distance.
  • adverb Aside; off; in another direction.
  • adverb From a state or condition of being; out of existence.
  • adverb By ellipsis of the verb, equivalent to an imperative: Go or come away; begone; take away.
  • adverb colloq. On; in continuance; without intermission or delay.
  • adverb [Obs. or Archaic] bear, abide.
  • adverb signifies, take him away.
  • adverb To carry off.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adverb From a place, hence.
  • adverb Aside; off; in another direction.
  • adverb From a state or condition of being; out of existence.
  • adverb as imperative, by ellipsis Come away; go away; take away.
  • adverb On; in continuance; without intermission or delay; as, sing away.
  • adverb Without restraint.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old English aweg : a-, on; see a– + weg, way; see wegh- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Old English onweġ.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word away.

Examples

  • Obama\'s reaction, which was given through an interview with George Stephanopoulos, as translated by Paul Krugman today is: In short, \ "Run away, run away\"!

    Taylor Marsh: The Obama Brand Implodes 2010

  • I thought of Dahmer's father on TV, wiping tears away with a sleeve, walking away  from the camera, holding an open palm up like a crossing guard, STOP.

    Serial Killer 2008

  • 'Born in the USA, don't take our parents away' yahooBuzzArticleHeadline = '\'Born in the USA, don\'t take our parents away\' '; yahooBuzzArticleSummary =' Article: Martin Andrade, 40, is a security officer from Chicago and is originally from Michoacan, Mexico.

    'Born in the USA, don't take our parents away' 2007

  • And if the parties to it try to bind it, the more chains, fastenings, pledges and agreements they put upon it, the sooner and quicker will it escape from all its holdings and fly away and _stay away_!

    Sane Sex Life and Sane Sex Living Some Things That All Sane People Ought to Know About Sex Nature and Sex Functioning; Its Place in the Economy of Life, Its Proper Training and Righteous Exercise

  • When the boy fell asleep, she would creep away, and _away_!

    Jane Journeys On Ruth Comfort Mitchell 1918

  • I. unsôfte þonan feorh ôð-ferede, 2142. of-ferian, _to carry off, to take away, to tear away_: pret. ôðer swylc ût offerede, _took away another such_ (sc. fifteen), 1584. fetel-hilt, st. n., _sword-hilt_, with the gold chains fastened to it: acc.

    Beowulf Robert Sharp 1879

  • Geáta leóde, _men of the Geátas, come from afar, have been brought hither_ (by ship), 361. ôð-ferian, _to tear away, to take away_: pret. sg.

    Beowulf Robert Sharp 1879

  • Gēata lēode, _men of the Gēatas, come from afar, have been brought hither_ (by ship), 361. oð-ferian, _to tear away, to take away_: pret. sg.

    Beowulf Robert Sharp 1879

  • I. unsōfte þonan feorh oð-ferede, 2142. of-ferian, _to carry off, to take away, to tear away_: pret. ōðer swylc ūt offerede, _took away another such_ (sc. fifteen), 1584. fetel-hilt, st. n., _sword-hilt_, with the gold chains fastened to it: acc.

    Beowulf Robert Sharp 1879

  • Paul proclaim, "If any man be in Christ Jesus and is a new creature, old limits are passed away, behold all things have become new;" for his ungodly baptised hearers are all new creatures by baptism, and yet their old sinful habits _have not passed away_, and all things have not become new to them.

    American Lutheranism Vindicated; or, Examination of the Lutheran Symbols, on Certain Disputed Topics Including a Reply to the Plea of Rev. W. J. Mann 1836

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • NUXiY`s favourite kind of being :)

    March 17, 2009

  • Run counterclockwise around the sheep.

    March 20, 2009

  • Run counterclockwise around the sheep in a-a manger, no crib for his bed.

    The-e litt-el lord Jee-sus la-ay down his sweet head.

    Anchors run counterclockwise around the sheep!

    Nope. Sorry. This one doesn't work either.

    March 21, 2009

  • "'Away,' Dick commands, motioning to the right to signal the 'outrun,' a directed sprint to the livestock waiting on the hill. Sweep is eager and takes off in a flash, tearing across the main field in a wide right-hand arc toward the sheep.... His slender limbs reach and fly, a dark blur against the green turf."

    —Merrily Weisbord and Kim Kachanoff, Dogs with Jobs: Working Dogs Around the World (NY and London: Pocket Books, 2000), 88.

    July 25, 2009