go amuck
1. To behave or run around in a wild, unruly, out-of-control manner; to be or become crazy or chaotic. We tried to have some organized games for the kids, but they all started going amuck as soon as they got here. The villagers were cleaning up debris for days after the bulls went amuck through the streets. When I was growing up, kids had discipline and structure. These days, it feels like they're allowed to just go amuck!
2. To become bad or go awry; to get out of control; to go haywire. This whole operation has gone amuck. I don't know how we can be expected to finish by the deadline under these conditions. Well, the coffee pot has gone amuck yet again. Maybe it's time to get a new one. The campaign has gone amuck now that the manager has resigned.
3. dated To rush around in a violent, murderous frenzy. (Note: This is the phrase's original specific meaning, taken from Malay. "Amuck" is an older alternative spelling of "amok," which is preferred today.) Fueled by alcohol and cocaine, Dave went amuck when his wife told him she'd been seeing someone else. Luckily, a neighbor called the police when they heard such a commotion. Members of the warrior clan were known to go amuck on the battlefield in a bloodthirsty frenzy. Please do not let your men go amuck and raze settlements. I want there to be civilized negotiation with the people on those lands.
run amok
1. To behave or run around in a wild, unruly, out-of-control manner; to be crazy or chaotic. We tried to have some organized games for the kids, but as soon as they all got here they started running amok. The villagers were cleaning up debris for days after the bulls ran amok through the streets.
2. To become bad or go awry; to get out of control; to go haywire. This whole operation has run amok. I don't know how we can be expected to finish under the deadline in these conditions.
3. dated To rush around in a violent, murderous frenzy. This is the phrase's original meaning, taken from Malay. "Amok" also has an older alternative spelling, "amuck." Members of the warrior clan were known to run amok on the battlefield in a bloodthirsty frenzy.
run amuck
1. To behave or run around in a wild, unruly, out-of-control manner; to be or become crazy or chaotic. We tried to have some organized games for the kids, but they all started running amuck as soon as they got here. The villagers were cleaning up debris for days after the bulls ran amuck through the streets.
2. To become bad or go awry; to get out of control; to go haywire. This whole operation has run amuck. I don't know how we can be expected to finish under the deadline in these conditions.
3. dated To rush around in a violent, murderous frenzy. (Note: This is the phrase's original specific meaning, taken from Malay. "Amuck" is an older alternative spelling of "amok," which is preferred today.) Fueled by alcohol and cocaine, Dave ran amuck when his wife told him she'd been seeing someone else. Luckily, a neighbor called the police when they heard such a commotion.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
run amok
Also, run riot or wild . Behave in a frenzied, out-of-control, or unrestrained manner. For example, I was afraid that if I left the toddler alone she would run amok and have a hard time calming down , or The weeds are running riot in the lawn, or The children were running wild in the playground. Amok comes from a Malay word for "frenzied" and was adopted into English, and at first spelled amuck, in the second half of the 1600s. Run riot dates from the early 1500s and derives from an earlier sense, that is, a hound's following an animal scent. Run wild alludes to an animal reverting to its natural, uncultivated state; its figurative use dates from the late 1700s.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.