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
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
Already, after just a week, dire predictions of a Black Monday-style market crash triggering another Great Depression have been exposed as hyperbole.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Apr. 2025
That’s one reason why the great financial crisis did not turn into a Great Depression.
—Sean Conlon, CNBC, 4 Apr. 2025
Biden talked about his blue-collar roots in Scranton, Pa. in describing how the stimulus package had helped prevent another Great Depression.
—Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 29 May 2024
The close coordination established with Chinese leaders during the Strategic Economic Dialogue helped Washington convince Beijing not to sell U.S. securities, which was critical to avoiding another Great Depression.
—Henry M. Paulson Jr., Foreign Affairs, 26 Jan. 2023
Gibbons was and remains closely associated with the Art Deco movement that exploded in the 1920s and 1930s, at a time when America was experiencing a Great Depression, but was drawn to opulence.
—Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Mar. 2024
Lewis chronicled his struggles with depression and drug addiction, as well as his recovery, on stage and in a 2000 memoir, The Other Great Depression.
—Dustin Nelson, EW.com, 28 Feb. 2024
America was just coming out of the decade-long Great Depression of the 1930s, and the industry was making some awesome changes, including the development of automatic transmissions, air conditioning and more powerful engines.
—David Krumboltz, The Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2024
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Michael Beckley, Foreign Affairs, 16 Apr. 2025
Already, after just a week, dire predictions of a Black Monday-style market crash triggering another Great Depression have been exposed as hyperbole.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Apr. 2025
That’s one reason why the great financial crisis did not turn into a Great Depression.
—Sean Conlon, CNBC, 4 Apr. 2025
Biden talked about his blue-collar roots in Scranton, Pa. in describing how the stimulus package had helped prevent another Great Depression.
—Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 29 May 2024
The close coordination established with Chinese leaders during the Strategic Economic Dialogue helped Washington convince Beijing not to sell U.S. securities, which was critical to avoiding another Great Depression.
—Henry M. Paulson Jr., Foreign Affairs, 26 Jan. 2023
Gibbons was and remains closely associated with the Art Deco movement that exploded in the 1920s and 1930s, at a time when America was experiencing a Great Depression, but was drawn to opulence.
—Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Mar. 2024
Lewis chronicled his struggles with depression and drug addiction, as well as his recovery, on stage and in a 2000 memoir, The Other Great Depression.
—Dustin Nelson, EW.com, 28 Feb. 2024
America was just coming out of the decade-long Great Depression of the 1930s, and the industry was making some awesome changes, including the development of automatic transmissions, air conditioning and more powerful engines.
—David Krumboltz, The Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Great Depression.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Great%20Depression. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
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