stampede
Americannoun
-
stampedes
plural
-
a sudden, frenzied rush or headlong flight of a herd of frightened animals, especially cattle or horses.
-
any headlong general flight or rush.
-
Western U.S., Canada. a celebration, usually held annually, combining a rodeo, contests, exhibitions, dancing, etc.
verb (used without object)
-
stampedes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stampeded,
past participle, past
-
stampeding
present participle
-
to scatter or flee in a stampede.
People stampeded from the burning theater.
-
to make a general rush.
On hearing of the sale, they stampeded to the store.
verb (used with object)
-
stampedes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stampeded,
past participle, past
-
stampeding
present participle
-
to cause to stampede.
-
to rush or overrun (a place).
Customers stampeded the stores.
noun
-
an impulsive headlong rush of startled cattle or horses
-
headlong rush of a crowd
a stampede of shoppers
-
any sudden large-scale movement or other action, such as a rush of people to support a candidate
-
a rodeo event featuring fairground and social elements
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
stampedesimple
-
stampedessimple
-
have stampededperfect
-
has stampededperfect
-
am stampedingprogressive
-
are stampedingprogressive
-
is stampedingprogressive
-
have been stampedingperfect progressive
-
has been stampedingperfect progressive
Past
-
stampededsimple
-
had stampededperfect
-
was stampedingprogressive
-
were stampedingprogressive
-
had been stampedingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of stampede
An Americanism first recorded in 1815–25; from Spanish estampida, equivalent to estamp(ar) “to stamp” + -ida noun suffix
Explanation
Do you see hundreds of cattle thundering toward you? Then stop reading and get out of there! A stampede is coming. Stampede is a word for animal behavior that fits people sometimes too. During the holidays, desperate parents might stampede the mall, especially the toy stores. Fans of a popular movie might stampede to get tickets. A stampede of teen girls can usually be found chasing the latest boy bands. Stampede can be a noun or a verb, but either way, look out!
Vocabulary lists containing stampede
Bud, Not Buddy
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Home of the Brave
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Stargirl
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
The tragedy follows a similar fire in Kinshasa last weekend, where residents died in a stampede at a wedding banquet hall.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
Stanford and MIT graduates are doing just fine, but a stampede of students into this major over the last two decades produced more coders than companies need.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Then, right behind them, a stampede of men in UFC T-shirts: the Running of the Bros.
From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2026
The last major dispute erupted after one of the pilgrimage's biggest tragedies, in 2015, when 464 Iranians were among 2,300 pilgrims killed in a stampede, prompting recriminations between Riyadh and Tehran.
From Barron's ● May 25, 2026
It sounded like a stampede of giants was heading right for them.
From I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 by Lauren Tarshis
The stampedes have been so intense that a number have been forced to institute caps on daily withdrawals.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 12, 2026
He downplayed responsibility for deaths so far by attributing some to "stampedes", but stressed that Iranian authorities had been "told very strongly" where the red lines lay.
From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2026
Deadly stampedes and crowd crushes are a common occurrence at big Indian gatherings and religious festivals.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2025
Human nature hasn’t changed enough since then to shield masses of people from being seduced and intimidated into servility and herd-like stampedes.
From Salon ● Feb. 17, 2025
Hale toiled day and night for a pittance; he rode through storms—hail, lightning, sand—and survived stampedes, guiding the cattle into smaller and smaller circles before they could trample him.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Consumers have stampeded toward protein, and food-industry giants are chasing them with new product innovations.
From MarketWatch ● May 5, 2026
Attendees stampeded, pushing and shoving and yelling as if there were one cake, not 1,000.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 29, 2025
“Zootopia 2” has already stampeded past $1 billion to surpass its predecessor, and the awards nominations have just begun slithering in.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 23, 2025
“All people are fallible, even a great president like Roosevelt. He got stampeded by the hysteria of the time, the racism of the time. And he signed Executive Order 9066,” Takei said.
From Seattle Times ● May 29, 2024
The passengers stampeded out of the train like a herd of cows that were late for a very important milking appointment.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
With Eben Etzebeth crunching returning New Zealand fly-half Richie Mo'unga in the tackle and Jasper Wiese stampeding around in the loose, the Boks seemed poised to stretch away and out of sight.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
Viral images of 72,000 migrants stampeding into Ceuta looked like a security collapse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
The thud snapped Seattle’s streak of six consecutive series wins, as the Mariners dropped three of four to a stampeding Twins team that has won 15 of their last 17 games.
From Seattle Times ● May 9, 2024
Beauty-store barbarian Sephora tweens stampeding through skin-care aisles and slathering their baby faces in retinol?
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 22, 2024
You might expect a stampeding mob, particularly one chased by a giant, furry, duck-billed “elephant,” to leave a bit of disarray in its path.
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
