Great Depression
noun
: the period of severe worldwide economic decline that began in 1929 and lasted throughout the 1930s and that was marked by deflation and widespread unemployment
After the 1906 catastrophe, demand for office space caused rents in the Block to spike, and insurance companies and steamship firms replaced artists and writers. During the Great Depression, however, rents dropped again and the bohemians returned.—
Gary Kamiya
Gary KamiyaFrom 1937 to 1938, during the height of the Great Depression, the Farm Securities Administration briefly ran a migrant labor camp in the area.—Janet Balicki
Janet BalickiExamples of Great Depression in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Trump has claimed that refunding the higher taxes he’s put on imports could lead to another Great Depression.
—Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
During the most devastating financial crisis our country has ever faced — The Great Depression — Chicago held a huge, extravagant event.
—Myrna Petlicki, Chicago Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025
The United Kingdom had created its own Great Depression five years before the rest of the world.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 10 Aug. 2025
Some economists believe tariffs had made the Great Depression worse.
—Reco McCambry, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025
This was the Great Depression, and Americans were suffering.
—Faith Hill, The Atlantic, 28 May 2025
Barrel rates against him are falling to Great Depression levels.
—Sam Settleman, New York Times, 3 May 2025
The social fallout has been staggering: rising disability claims, drug overdoses, and prime-age workers dropping out of the labor force at Great Depression–level numbers.
—Michael Beckley, Foreign Affairs, 16 Apr. 2025
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Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
During the most devastating financial crisis our country has ever faced — The Great Depression — Chicago held a huge, extravagant event.
—Myrna Petlicki, Chicago Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025
The United Kingdom had created its own Great Depression five years before the rest of the world.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 10 Aug. 2025
Some economists believe tariffs had made the Great Depression worse.
—Reco McCambry, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025
This was the Great Depression, and Americans were suffering.
—Faith Hill, The Atlantic, 28 May 2025
Barrel rates against him are falling to Great Depression levels.
—Sam Settleman, New York Times, 3 May 2025
The social fallout has been staggering: rising disability claims, drug overdoses, and prime-age workers dropping out of the labor force at Great Depression–level numbers.
—Michael Beckley, Foreign Affairs, 16 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Great Depression.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Great%20Depression. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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