Showing results for panic buying. Search instead for civic dying.

panic buying

British

noun

the buying up of large quantities of a commodity which, it is feared, is likely to be in short supply

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Slovenia imposed limits on fuel purchases after a wave of panic buying and “fuel tourism” from neighboring countries ran some gas stations dry.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

The government maintains that Australia has all the fuel it needs, but panic buying and distribution problems have created regional shortages.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

Thousands of independent service stations are facing supply shortfalls as "panic buying is driving demand", John Njogu, CEO of the Petroleum Outlets Association of Kenya, told AFP.

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

"South Africa's fuel supply remains stable in the immediate term, and there is no basis for panic buying," an official government statement said on Thursday.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

It didn’t save gas and more often than not it triggered panic buying, like the 12-cent top-off.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023