away
gb/əwˈeɪ/ us/əwˈeɪ/
A1
English
~ 200
Senses
0 senses
adverb
A1
relation
1
At a distance from a place
In or to a place that is far from here.
Usage pattern:
to be [distance] away
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'away' with 'out' when talking about location. 'Away' means at a distance, while 'out' means outside.
Synonyms
distantly (More formal and less common in everyday speech.)
Antonyms
nearby (Refers to being close instead of far.)
Collocations
far away
|miles away
|away from home
|go away
Themes
daily life
|travel
|space
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The beach is only five minutes away.
- She moved away to another city.
- Keep your phone away from water.
- They live miles away from the nearest town.
Learner examples
- My school is near, but the park is far away.
- Please keep the baby away from the fire.
- He lives far away from his parents.
- The shop is two streets away.
adverb
A1
relation
2
In the opposite direction
Moving in another direction, not toward someone or something.
Usage pattern:
to turn/move [something] away
Synonyms
aside (Often used for small sideways movement rather than fully leaving.)
Antonyms
toward (Indicates motion in the direction of something.)
Collocations
turn away
|walk away
|look away
Themes
movement
|daily life
|space
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- He turned away when he saw the accident.
- She walked away without saying goodbye.
- The dog ran away from the noise.
Learner examples
- Please look away from the sun.
- He walked away from the house.
- The cat ran away from the dog.
adverb
A1
state
3
Not present somewhere
Not here; in another place.
Synonyms
absent (More formal and often used for official contexts.)
Antonyms
present (Means being in a place instead of absent.)
Collocations
be away
|away on business
|away at school
Themes
daily life
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- She is away on vacation this week.
- He was away from his desk when I called.
- The teacher will be away tomorrow.
Learner examples
- My father is away at work now.
- She is away at school.
- I was away when you called.
adverb
B1
property
4
Continuously without stopping
Shows that someone keeps doing something without stopping until it ends.
Synonyms
continuously (General term for without interruption, not limited to idiomatic use after verbs.)
Antonyms
intermittently (Indicates something done with breaks or pauses.)
Collocations
work away
|talk away
|play away
Themes
daily life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- She worked away all afternoon on her project.
- He chatted away happily with his friends.
- The children played away in the garden.
Learner examples
- He talked away for hours.
- She worked away at her homework.
- They played away until dinner.
adverb
B2
relation
5
Forward in time or events
Shows that time or events go forward into the future.
Synonyms
onward (Similar idea but more formal and less tied to passing time naturally.)
Antonyms
backward (Opposite in terms of movement in time or sequence.)
Collocations
ticking away
|slip away (time)
Themes
time
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The months went quickly away.
- Time is ticking away before the deadline.
- The years slipped away unnoticed.
Learner examples
- Time goes away fast when you are happy.
- The day went away quickly.
- The hours went away as we talked.
Grammar
Expressions
run away
1/ɹˈʌn əwˈeɪ/
phrasal verb
Escape quickly from danger or trouble
To leave quickly because of fear, danger, or trouble.
Examples
- The thief ran away when he saw the police.
- She ran away from home as a teenager.
fade away
1/fˈeɪd əwˈeɪ/
phrasal verb
Gradually disappear completely
To slowly go away until you cannot see, hear, or feel it anymore.
Examples
- The sound of the music faded away.
- The sound of the train faded away into the distance.
- His strength slowly faded away after the illness.
- His anger slowly faded away as he listened.
give away
1/ɡˈɪv əwˈeɪ/
phrasal verb
to hand over without payment or reveal unintentionally
To give something to someone without asking for money, or to tell a secret by accident.
Examples
- She gave away all her old clothes.
- They gave away free samples at the store.
- He smiled, which gave away how happy he was.
- He gave his old clothes away to charity.
go away
1/ɡˈoʊ əwˈeɪ/
phrasal verb
Leave a place for some time or forever
To leave a place and not come back soon.
Examples
- Go away and never return!
- Please go away and let me work.
- She went away for the summer.
- He went away for the weekend.
right away
1/ɹˈaɪt əwˈeɪ/
fixed phrase
immediately without delay
Immediately; without waiting.
Examples
- I need you to start right away.
- I’ll call you right away when I get home.
- She called me back right away.
- She started working on it right away.