stampede

noun

stam·pede | \ (ˌ)stam-ˈpēd

Definition of stampede

(Entry 1 of 2)

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

stampede

verb

stampeded; stampeding

Definition of stampede (Entry 2 of 2)

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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Examples of stampede in a Sentence

Noun

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

Verb

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

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

However, a stampede broke out on May 1 in the rush to apply, and the aid was halted for several days following the overwhelming demand. — Suyin Haynes, Time, "Boracay Islanders Feel the Pinch After the Philippines Shuts Down a Top Tourist Destination," 16 May 2018 No one knows, but Judd Apatow deserves credit for cheerleading this stampede of public statements in Hollywood. — Frank Rich, Daily Intelligencer, "The Shameless Fakery of Trump’s Retreat on Family Separations," 21 June 2018 At least six people who sustained gunshot wounds or were injured during the stampede, including two suspects, remained hospitalized Monday. — Laura Mccrystal, Philly.com, "Gov. Murphy condemns Trenton arts festival shooting and vows to bring those responsible for 'the lawlessness' to justice," 18 June 2018 According to authorities, the tear-gas caused a stampede inside the building, where approximately 500 students were celebrating a pre-graduation party. — De Elizabeth, Teen Vogue, "Tear-Gas Explosion Causes Stampede at Venezuela Nightclub," 17 June 2018 About 1,000 people were at the event when the shooting began, triggering a stampede. — Laura Mccrystal, Philly.com, "Gov. Murphy condemns Trenton arts festival shooting and vows to bring those responsible for 'the lawlessness' to justice," 18 June 2018 On the ground that night, the story’s repercussions could be seen in real time with the stampede for the door, Ms. Guevara said. — Michael Wilson, New York Times, "An Online Agitator, a Social Media Exposé and the Fallout in Brooklyn," 6 June 2018 The attack set off a stampede as panicked people rushed to safety, according to officials and the state broadcaster. — Hadra Ahmed, BostonGlobe.com, "Explosions hit rallies for leaders of Ethiopia, Zimbabwe," 23 June 2018 The Warriors went 140-24 in the two regular seasons before Durant arrived, including their record-setting, 73-win stampede through the 2015-16 season. — Ron Kroichick, SFChronicle.com, "Warriors dynasty defined: Before KD, and after KD," 16 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The subplots keep stampeding past before a viewer has a chance to corral them. — Hank Stuever, chicagotribune.com, "A gruff Kevin Costner has a hard time corralling 'Yellowstone's' wild herd of subplots," 14 June 2018 The victims, eight of whom were younger than 18, suffered either asphyxia or trauma to the body as hundreds of clubgoers stampeded to escape the fumes. — Rachelle Krygier, Washington Post, "Tear gas triggers stampede at Venezuela nightclub, resulting in 17 deaths," 16 June 2018 Claire and Owen, but also military vet Zia (Daniella Pineda) and computer nerd Franklin (Justice Smith)—running away from cool-looking explosions while enormous dinosaurs stampede all around them. — Josephine Livingstone, The New Republic, "We’re Going to Need a Bigger Island," 22 June 2018 The victims, eight of whom were younger than 18, suffered either asphyxia or trauma to the body as hundreds of clubgoers stampeded to escape the fumes. — Nicole Winfield, BostonGlobe.com, "Pope: Abortion is ‘white glove’ equivalent to Nazi crimes," 17 June 2018 And while polls show mixed evidence of a Democratic turnout advantage in November, in practice, party voters have stampeded to the polls in the actual elections held since Trump took office. — Ronald Brownstein, CNN, "Beating Republicans in November will be harder than Democrats thought," 22 May 2018 Whether stampeding drunk through St. Mark’s Square at midnight or scaring off the monkeys in the Amazon, out-of-control vacationers are wreaking havoc everywhere. — Joe Queenan, WSJ, "Skip the Selfie and Run: Busy Locales Get Tough With Tourists," 31 May 2018 Noisy approaches by people can startle herds, sending walruses stampeding into water, which can crush and kill vulnerable animals. — Washington Post, "Walrus surprise residents in remote Alaska village," 9 May 2018 He's been a supportive teammate, but sat and watched as the Pelicans stampeded into the second round by playing at a breakneck pace and bombing away from three-point range with Davis playing at center. — Tim Bontemps, chicagotribune.com, "Will DeMarcus Cousins be back with the New Orleans Pelicans?," 9 May 2018

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.

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Last Updated

19 Sep 2018

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Time Traveler for stampede

The first known use of stampede was in 1828

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More Definitions for stampede

stampede

noun

English Language Learners Definition of stampede

(Entry 1 of 2)

: 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

English Language Learners Definition of stampede (Entry 2 of 2)

: 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

See the full definition for stampede in the English Language Learners Dictionary

stampede

noun

stam·pede | \ stam-ˈpēd