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.

---

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.)

---

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

The five identical sisters, born in Ontario at the height of the Great Depression in 1934, were the first known quintuplets to survive past infancy.

From BBC

The growing effects of the Great Depression left many countries unable to afford the long, slow steamship trip to South America.

From Los Angeles Times

The government first launched FHA loans during the Great Depression to encourage Americans to buy homes.

From MarketWatch

He walked away with $100 million at the start of the Great Depression—equivalent to nearly $2 billion in today’s money.

From The Wall Street Journal

“In the midst of the Great Depression, she had oodles of cash,” said Cook.

From Los Angeles Times