Definition of "stampede"

stampede

/stæmˈpiːd/

noun
plural stampedes
1. A wild, headlong scamper, or running away, of a number of animals; usually caused by fright; hence, any sudden flight or dispersion, as of a crowd or an army in consequence of a panic.
  Quotations
  She and her husband would join in the general stampede.
  1873, William Black, A Princess of Thule
2. (by extension) A situation in which many people in a crowd are trying to go in the same direction at the same time.
  Quotations
  Say, Smoke, this ain't no stampede. It's a exode-us. They must be a thousand men ahead of us an' ten thousand behind.
  1912 October, Jack London, “The Stampede to Squaw Creek”, in Smoke Bellew, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co, page 75
  I asked the conductor if he would ask Chester to hold the 16.35 to Euston - the last through train on a Saturday - but he said Virgin won't hold anything. We came to a stand at Chester at 16.35, and there was a sizeable stampede down the platform for the London train, but it had gone.
  2019 October, Chris Stokes, “Between the Lines”, in Modern Railways, page 97
3. (figurative) Any sudden unconcerted moving or acting together of a number of persons, as from some common impulse.
  Quotations
  When the Credit Suisse’s top investor, Saudi National Bank, told reporters last Wednesday it would not give more money to the bank, investors and depositors started a stampede for the exit, withdrawing hundreds of millions of dollars.
  2023 March 22, Philip Oltermann, “Switzerland’s national pride dealt heavy blow by the merger of its banking titans”, in The Guardian‎
verb
third-person singular simple present stampedes, present participle stampeding, simple past and past participle stampeded
1. (intransitive) To run away in a panic; said of cattle, horses, etc., also of armies.
2. (transitive) To disperse by causing sudden fright, as a herd or drove of animals.
  Quotations
  Cattle are usually quiet after dark. Still I've known even a coyote to stampede your white herd.
  1912 January, Zane Grey, chapter 3, in Riders of the Purple Sage […], New York, N.Y., London: Harper & Brothers Publishers
3. To move rapidly in a mass. (of people)
  Quotations
  But here in the UK, we tend to stampede from the concourse the moment the platform number is announced for the train we want to catch, crush round the doors, and then launch ourselves into the first available seat before our fellow passengers can take them all.
  2020 May 20, Stefanie Foster, “Comment: Safety first: now more than ever”, in Rail, page 3

Definition of "stampede"

stampede

noun

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verb

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