stampede

verb

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

stampeder noun

Examples of stampede in a Sentence

People stampeded to the exits.

The gunshot stampeded the cattle.

Recent Examples on the Web

The April shooting caused a mass panic on the subway car with straphangers stampeding toward the exits as the train entered the station. —Julian Roberts-Grmela, New York Daily News, 5 June 2026

But bonding keeps getting interrupted as big, implacable questions rear their head, like wildebeests slowly amassing and waiting to stampede. —Sara Holdren, Vulture, 20 May 2026

His friends instantly stampeded for the exits. —Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune, 6 May 2026

All five girls jumped off the couch, stampeded toward the apartment door, and tumbled into the building’s stairwell, stepping on each other’s heels. —Anna Wiener, New Yorker, 4 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1838, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for stampede

• accede
• agreed
• airspeed
• alkyd
• bindweed
• chickweed
• concede
• decreed
• duckweed
• exceed
• flaxseed
• impede

Kids Definition

stampede

1 of 2 noun

stam·​pede stam-ˈpēd 

1

: a wild rush or flight of frightened animals

2

: a sudden movement of a crowd of people

stampede

2 of 2 verb

stampeded; stampeding

1

: to run away or cause (as cattle) to run away in panic

2

: to act together or cause to act together suddenly and without thought

Etymology

from a word in the Spanish of Mexico and the American Southwest, estampida "stampede," from Spanish estampida "a crash, loud noise," from estamper "to pound, stamp"