# away

Pronunciation: say "uh-WAY" /əˈweɪ/

## Adverb

1. In a direction leading off from a place, person, or thing, or turned toward another direction; also used without a verb in commands.
   - Simple: Farther from someone or something, or in another direction. Also used to tell someone to leave or take something elsewhere.
   - _The crowd backed away as the fire spread across the roof._
   - _He waved once and then walked away down the empty road._
2. At a stated distance in space or time, measured from a given point of reference.
   - Simple: At a certain distance in space or time from a point.
   - _Their cabin sits about three hundred yards away from the lake._
   - _The next eclipse is several years away._
3. So as to discard something or get rid of it.
   - Simple: In a way that throws something out or gets rid of it.
   - _We threw away the spoiled food without a second thought._
   - _She gave away her old toys to a local charity._
5. So as to disappear, diminish, or be removed or used up, often gradually.
   - Simple: So that something becomes less or disappears, often slowly, by fading, wearing down, or being used up.
   - _The final notes of the song died away into silence._
   - _Over centuries the river has slowly worn away the soft rock along its banks._
7. Continuously and without stopping, often freely and without holding back.
   - Simple: Without stopping, or freely and a lot, as in 'working away' or 'chatting away'.
   - _She set to work and toiled away through the whole night._
   - _The children chattered away happily in the back seat for the whole drive._
9. Into or toward the place where something is usually kept, especially somewhere safe or out of sight.
   - Simple: Into the place where something is kept, or somewhere safe or hidden.
   - _He stashed the cash away in a hidden floor safe._
   - _Before the guests arrived, he hid the presents away on the top shelf of the closet._

## Adjective

4. Situated at a specified distance off in space or time, or by extension in a figurative sense.
   - Simple: Located a set distance off in space or time.
   - _The finish line felt impossibly far away by the final lap._
   - _Their dream of owning a home seemed years away._
6. Not present in the usual place; gone, absent, unavailable, or traveling for a period of time.
   - Simple: Not here right now because you have gone somewhere else.
   - _She has been away from the office recovering from surgery._
   - _Both partners were away when the package arrived._
8. Taking place at the opponent's ground rather than one's own home venue.
   - Simple: Played or held at the other team's ground, not at your own.
   - _The club has struggled to win away fixtures all season._
   - _Supporters packed the stands for the crucial away game._

## Verb

10. To depart and make one's way to another place. *(literary)*
   - Simple: To leave one place and travel to another.

## Interjection

11. A sharp command telling someone to leave or be gone at once. *(literary)*
   - Simple: Said to tell someone to leave at once.
   - _Away! cried the old man, waving his stick at the trespassers._
   - _Away with you, beggar, the merchant snapped, slamming the door._

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Out, said of a batter or base runner who has been retired in baseball and similar ball games.
- (adjective) Designating the golfer whose ball lies farthest from the hole, and who therefore plays the next stroke.

## Origin

From Middle English away, from Old English āweġ (originally on weġ, 'on one's way; onward'), equivalent to a- ('on') plus way. It is cognate with Dutch weg, German weg, Danish væk, and Swedish i väg.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/away (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).