panic

¹ American  

[pan-ik] / ˈpæn ɪk /

noun

1. a sudden overwhelming fear, with or without cause, that produces hysterical or irrational behavior, and that often spreads quickly through a group of persons or animals.

   Synonyms:

   fear, alarm

2. an instance, outbreak, or period of such fear.

3. Finance. a sudden widespread fear concerning financial affairs leading to credit contraction and widespread sale of securities at depressed prices in an effort to acquire cash.

4. Slang. someone or something that is considered hilariously funny.

   The comedian was an absolute panic.

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adjective

1. of the nature of, caused by, or indicating panic.

   A wave of panic buying shook the stock market.

2. (of fear, terror, etc.) suddenly destroying the self-control and impelling to some frantic action.

3. Panic, of or relating to the god Pan.

verb (used with object)

panicked, panicking

1. to affect with panic; terrify and cause to flee or lose self-control.

2. Slang. to keep (an audience or the like) highly amused.

verb (used without object)

panicked, panicking

1. to be stricken with panic; become frantic with fear.

   The herd panicked and stampeded.

panic ² American  

[pan-ik] / ˈpæn ɪk /

noun

1. Also called panic grass.  any grass of the genus Panicum, many species of which bear edible grain.

2. the grain.

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panic ¹ British  

/ ˈpænɪk /

noun

1. a sudden overwhelming feeling of terror or anxiety, esp one affecting a whole group of people

2. (modifier) of or resulting from such terror

   panic measures

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verb

1. to feel or cause to feel panic

Panic ² British  

/ ˈpænɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to the god Pan

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panic Idioms  

1. see push the panic button.

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Related Words

See terror.

Other Word Forms

• panicky adjective
• unpanicky adjective

Etymology

Origin of panic¹

First recorded in 1580–90; earlier panique, from French, from Greek Panikós “of Pan”; Pan, -ic

Origin of panic²

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English panik, from Latin pānicum “Italian millet”

Example Sentences

This week’s software-stock selloff feels like the latest reason to reach for the career panic button, unless you happen to be an artificial-intelligence developer.

From The Wall Street Journal

One year ago, panic around DeepSeek’s AI models, led to indiscriminate selling of technology stocks.

From Barron's

The recent panic mirrors last year’s DeepSeek scare, when the release of a new model from a Chinese AI developer sparked concerns about competition and the overall sustainability of the AI boom.

From Barron's

Traders said Wednesday’s selling was orderly and showed few signs of panic.

From The Wall Street Journal

The boy didn’t know much about panic attacks, and he wondered if they felt like when his feelings were so loud he couldn’t hear anything else.

From Literature

Related Words

• alarm
• confusion
• consternation
• dismay
• dread
• fear
• frenzy
• horror
• hysteria
• rush
• scare
• stampede
• terror
• trepidation