panic attack

American  

noun

Psychiatry.

1. an intense attack of anxiety characterized by feelings of impending doom and trembling, sweating, pounding heart, and other physical symptoms.

---

panic attack British  

noun

1. an episode of acute and disabling anxiety associated with such physical symptoms as hyperventilation and sweating See also panic disorder

---

Example Sentences

Warner Judd recalls feeling like she was "having a panic attack" upon returning to the track, and required a year of therapy to fully process her trauma.

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026

On the main stage, May Habib, chief executive of an AI platform called Writer, told the audience that Fortune 500 bosses are having a "collective panic attack" on the subject.

From Barron's • Apr. 12, 2026

Shear, with a resting face that seems halfway to panic attack, plays Sam, whose free-floating anxiety is enough to make him faint in public after getting laid off.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

Irish filmmaker John Kelly, who specializes in animation, had a panic attack on an airplane while going through endless flagged emails.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 13, 2026

I realized I must be having some sort of panic attack.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

Related Words

• spasm