Great Depression

American  

noun

1. the economic crisis and period of low business activity in the U.S. and other countries, roughly beginning with the stock-market crash in October, 1929, and continuing through most of the 1930s.

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Depression, Great Cultural  

1. The great slowdown in the American economy, the worst in the country's history, which began in 1929 and lasted until the early 1940s. Many banks and businesses failed, and millions of people lost their jobs. (See Dust Bowl; fireside chats; Hoovervilles; New Deal; Okies; Franklin D. Roosevelt; and stock market Crash of 1929.)

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Usage

When and what was the Great Depression? The Great Depression was a worldwide economic crisis that lasted for much of the 1930s. It heavily impacted the United States, where millions of people faced unemployment, homelessness, and poverty.In economics, a depression is a period during which business, employment, and stock market values fall to very low levels for a significant amount of time (typically more than three years). The Great in Great Depression refers to the fact that it was the worst depression in U.S. history.The start of the Great Depression is often cited as the U.S. stock market crash of 1929, but its causes are complex. Its effects were also complex and widespread and are still discussed. Some can even be seen today in the form of government programs and agencies created to address the crisis at the time.

Example Sentences

During his roughly 42-year working and investing life, which spanned the Great Depression and World War II, the Dow increased roughly fivefold.

From Barron's • Mar. 14, 2026

Morgan Private Bank, thinks the changes are likely to come more gradually, and indeed unevenly, and likely won’t reach levels seen during the Great Financial Crisis or the Great Depression.

From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026

Jukeboxes helped save the music industry when record sales tanked during the Great Depression and people sought inexpensive entertainment after the repeal of Prohibition.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 14, 2026

It has tracked the steady ascendance of major companies in the world’s largest economy through the Great Depression, two world wars, the dot-com bubble, the 2008-09 financial crisis and tariff turmoil.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 8, 2026

He finished high school at the top of his class at age fifteen and went on to Indiana University in the early days of the Great Depression.

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau