From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishawaya‧way1 /əˈweɪ/ ●●● S1 W1 adverb 1 DISTANCEused to say that someone leaves a place or person, or stays some distance from a place or person Go away! Dinah was crying as she drove slowly away.away from Stay away from the fire.2 towards a different direction She turned away and stared out of the window. Charley blushed and looked away, embarrassed.3 HERETHEREif someone is away from school, work, or home, they are not there SYN absent Simon is away with flu. Kate is away on holiday.away from You must bring a note from your parents if you’ve been away from school.4 DISTANCEused to say how far it is to a place or thingfive miles/ten feet etc away Geneva is about 20 miles away. There’s another hotel not far away.away from She was sitting ten feet away from the microphone.five minutes/two hours etc away The beach is only five minutes away (=it only takes five minutes to get there).5 AFTERFUTUREif an event is two days, three weeks etc away, it will happen after that period of time has passed Christmas is only a month away. 6 used to say how close someone is to achieving something or experiencing somethingaway from At one stage, they were just two points away from victory.7 XXinto or in a safe or enclosed place Put your money away, I’m paying. Thousands of archaeological treasures are being kept hidden away.8 XXused to show that something disappears or is removed The music died away. Ruben gave all his money away to charity. Support for the Democrats has dropped away. Cut away all the dead wood.9 CONTINUE/NOT STOPused to emphasize that an action continues Sue was singing away to herself in the bath. They’ve been hammering away all day.10 used to say that someone spends the whole of a period of time doing something You can dance the night away in one of Benidorm’s many discos.11 DSif a team is playing away, it is playing a game at its opponent’s field or sports hall OPP at home Liverpool are playing away at Everton on Saturday. → far and away at far1(12), → right away at right2(2), → straight away at straight1(7)
Examples from the Corpus
away• All the water had boiled away.• The young lovers danced the night away.• At times, Alvin turned away.• But Thieu Tri declined to bargain and left Percival no choice but to free the dignitaries and sail away.• Zanger said he retorted that he needed his glasses to drive away.• The car quickly drove away.• The nearest village was about 20 miles away.• He tasted warm wetness on his tongue and touched his lip and took away a bloodied finger.• He hurled himself away and tried to climb out.• Toronto's only about an hour and a half away by car.• He was standing three metres away from the bomb when it exploded.• The station is about two miles away from the city centre.• The Cubs are away in Los Angeles this week.• The heater had been adjusted to give a temperature of 76°F, and the filter was bubbling away nicely.• Put all your toys away now, please.• He's been working away on the deck all afternoon.• And then, just as I was reaching for my battered copy of Einstein, Jon Snow gave away the secret.• I'm sorry, Mrs. Parker is away this week.• Rose did it well; she was just young enough to get away with it.away from• You need a note from your parents if you're going to be away from school.• Move away from the fire!• Please keep children away from the glass objects.awayaway2 adjective [only before noun] DSan away game or match is played at your opponent’s field or sports hall OPP homeExamples from the Corpus
away• I love going to away games.• The road was unforgiving, dealing the Lakers a whopping 10 losses in the first 13 away games.• Wolves, unbeaten in seven games, had not conceded an away goal.• Plymouth have an appalling away record but they must be buoyant after their Roker Park win.• And so was the silence when, in the third minute, a cracking volley put the away side in command.Origin away1 Old English onweg, aweg, from on + weg “way” 