away
A1Neutral (used in all registers from casual to formal)
Definition
Meaning
At or to a distance from a particular place, person, or thing; not present.
Indicates removal, departure, separation, or a continuous state of activity. Can also refer to a sports team playing at an opponent's venue.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Primarily functions as an adverb or adjective. Often forms phrasal verbs with high frequency verbs (go away, give away, take away). Its core spatial meaning is easily extended metaphorically (e.g., 'fade away', 'work away').
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Minor. UK English uses 'away' slightly more often in football contexts ('away match'). In US English, 'takeout' is more common than 'takeaway' for food.
Connotations
Largely identical. In sports, 'away' carries the same 'visiting team' connotation.
Frequency
Equally high frequency in both dialects.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[verb] + away[verb] + [object] + awayaway + [prepositional phrase]away + [adverb of distance]Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “right away”
- “far and away”
- “away from the madding crowd”
- “away with you!”
- “out and away”
- “make away with”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
"We need to clear away the old files before the audit."
Academic
"The researcher moved the confounding variable away from the core analysis."
Everyday
"He lives a few miles away."
Technical
"The system is designed to shunt excess energy away from the core reactor."
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The winger managed to away the ball under pressure. (informal/sports)
American English
- The striker tried to away it into the net. (informal/sports)
adverb
British English
- She moved away to Edinburgh for university.
- Please put your toys away.
American English
- He backed away slowly from the door.
- Throw that rotten food away.
adjective
British English
- It's an away match for Chelsea this weekend.
- We ordered a chicken tikka takeaway.
American English
- The away team struggled in the noisy stadium.
- We got takeout, not delivery.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- My friend lives far away.
- Go away!
- Put your books away.
- The airport is about thirty minutes away by car.
- The children ran away from the dog.
- He gave away all his old clothes.
- The scandal forced the minister to step away from public life.
- The economic benefits are not far away.
- She was gazing away into the distance, lost in thought.
- The political centre of gravity has shifted away from traditional parties.
- The company managed to fend away the hostile takeover bid.
- He chipped away at the problem until he found a solution.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
A WAY from here. Think of a road (a way) leading to a distance.
Conceptual Metaphor
DISTANCE IS SEPARATION / ABSENCE IS DISTANCE / COMPLETION IS REMOVAL (e.g., 'finish away the job').
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Confusing 'away' with 'far'. 'Away' focuses on separation or motion from a point, while 'far' focuses on static distance. "He is away" means he is not here, not necessarily distant. Mistranslating phrasal verbs as literal combinations (e.g., 'give away' vs 'give').
Common Mistakes
- Using 'away' as a preposition (e.g., 'away of the city' instead of 'away from the city'). Confusing 'away' and 'far' in stative contexts. Incorrect word order in phrasal verbs with pronouns (e.g., 'throw away it' instead of 'throw it away').
Practice
Quiz
In which sentence is 'away' used as an adjective?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Primarily an adverb. It can function as an adjective (e.g., 'the away game'), and in informal sports commentary as a verb. It requires 'from' to function prepositionally ('away from home').
'Away' indicates separation or motion *from* a reference point. 'Far' indicates a large *static* distance between two points. Something can be 'far' but still relevant (a far country), but 'away' implies disconnection or absence.
In separable phrasal verbs (verb + adverb), pronouns as objects (it, him, them) must come between the verb and the particle/adverb. Full noun phrases can come before or after ('throw away the rubbish' / 'throw the rubbish away').
Yes, for food intended to be eaten off the premises. The equivalent in American English is 'takeout' or 'to go'. In both dialects, 'takeaway' is used figuratively for a key lesson or point from a discussion.