stampede

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noun stam·pede \ (ˌ)stam-ˈpēd \

Definition of stampede

1 :a wild headlong rush or flight of frightened animals

2 :a mass movement of people at a common impulse

3 :an extended festival combining a rodeo with exhibitions, contests, and social events

See stampede defined for English-language learners

See stampede defined for kids

Examples of stampede in a Sentence

a stampede to the exits
a stampede to buy the stock
a stampede of new applicants

Recent Examples of stampede from the Web

Iran, which lost 464 pilgrims in the stampede, immediately used the disaster to call for an independent body to take over administering the hajj.

— Bloomberg.com, "Hajj Pilgrimage Entangled in Web of Saudi Politics," 29 Aug. 2017
During these haulouts, tens of thousands of walruses may crowd onto a relatively small beach, increasing the danger of the animals killing each other in a stampede.

— ben panko, Smithsonian, "Melting Sea Ice Forces Walruses Ashore in Earliest Gathering Yet Observed," 21 Aug. 2017
This position, however, appeared to trigger a stampede of withdrawals, akin to a bank run, that led many customers to complain about long delays in getting access to their funds.

— jeff john roberts, Fortune, "Coinbase to Let Users Withdraw Bitcoin Cash After Outcry," 3 Aug. 2017
If the new CPU were compatible, that stampede is less likely to occur.

— gordon mah ung, PCWorld, "Facepalm: Intel's upcoming Coffee Lake CPUs won't work with today's motherboards," 2 Aug. 2017
Donald Trump's election as president showed the veracity of that statement, as does the current stampede of candidates considering a run in next year's Democratic primary for governor.

— barry rascovar, baltimoresun.com, "Democratic primary field for governor likely to keep growing," 1 Aug. 2017
Stampede cutting Clint Allen of Weatherford, riding QB Cat, clinched the open division title at the Mercuria NCHA Calgary Stampede Open World Series of Cutting tour stop after turning in a score of 225.

— brett hoffman, star-telegram, "Lipan rider guides mare into NCHA open finals at Will Rogers," 19 July 2017
And there could be a full-fledged stampede away from the bill if the Congressional Budget Office score of the legislation (due on Monday) is anything nearly as bad as its assessment of the original BCRA.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "Mitch McConnell Running Out of Time, Money, and Luck in Effort to Pass Trumpcare," 12 July 2017
Others were injured during a stampede from the park to escape the gunfire.

— charles rabin, miamiherald, "‘Bullets don’t have eyes,’ leaders say, and plead with public to lock up guns July 4," 3 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'stampede.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of stampede

American Spanish estampida, from Spanish, crash, from estampar to stamp, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German stampfōn to stamp

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1828

See Words from the same year

Other Animal Husbandry Terms

apiary, bantam, calico, girth, hogwash, mast, rut

stampede

verb

Definition of stampede

stampeded; stampeding

transitive verb

1 :to cause to run away in headlong panic

2 :to cause (a group or mass of people) to act on sudden or rash impulse

intransitive verb

1 :to flee headlong in panic

2 :to act on mass impulse

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stampeder

noun

See stampede defined for English-language learners

Examples of stampede in a Sentence

People stampeded to the exits.
The gunshot stampeded the cattle.

Recent Examples of stampede from the Web

After panicked stories in the press, people stampeded vaccine clinics, which had to open extra rooms to contain the crowds.

— sam kean, Science | AAAS, "When will yellow fever strike Brazil again? Monkeys and mosquitoes hold clues," 17 Aug. 2017
But chaos broke out again 90 minutes after Santiago’s barrage when false reports of a second shooter sent people stampeding, injuring 40.

— terry spencer, The Seattle Times, "Report: Lack of command stymied response to airport shooting," 15 Aug. 2017
But chaos broke out again 90 minutes after Santiago’s barrage when false reports of a second shooter sent people stampeding, injuring 40.

— Washington Post, "Report: Lack of command stymied response to airport shooting," 15 Aug. 2017
Luckily she was given an open invitation to return (to stampede the competition) for the show’s decennial season.

— patrick crowley, Billboard, "9 Reasons 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Deserves to Snatch All the Emmys," 15 Aug. 2017
Botha, leading a hunting group, fired at a group of elephants stampeding toward him when an elephant lifted him off the ground with its trunk.

— lisa gutierrez, kansascity, "Elephant hunter becomes the second this year to be killed by his prey," 14 Aug. 2017
But Eleanor, for goodness sake, don’t let anyone stampede you.

— richard sandomir, SI.com, "How Gary Cooper, Pride of the Yankees film became the accepted reality of Lou Gehrig's life," 21 June 2017
Avalanches stampede down granite walls, taking trees and rocks with them that choke roads.

— brian melley, The Seattle Times, "California still digging out snowy roads, but heat may help," 15 June 2017
In August 2016, false reports of gunshots sent passengers stampeding onto the tarmacs of LAX and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.

— stephen hobbs, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Swarm of 2,000 cops complicated airport shooting response," 8 June 2017

First Known Use of stampede

1838

STAMPEDE Defined for English Language Learners

stampede

play

noun

Definition of stampede for English Language Learners

: an occurrence in which a large group of frightened or excited animals or people run together in a wild and uncontrolled way to escape from something, get out of a place, etc.
: a situation in which a lot of people try to do the same thing at the same time

stampede

verb

Definition of stampede for English Language Learners

: to run away in a large group from something especially because of fear
: to cause (animals) to run away in a large group
: to cause (a person or a group of people) to do something suddenly and without proper thought