stampede

American  

[stam-peed] / stæmˈpid /

noun

• stampedes
  plural

1. a sudden, frenzied rush or headlong flight of a herd of frightened animals, especially cattle or horses.

2. any headlong general flight or rush.

3. Western U.S., Canada. a celebration, usually held annually, combining a rodeo, contests, exhibitions, dancing, etc.

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verb (used without object)

• stampedes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• stampeded,
  past participle,  past
• stampeding
  present participle

1. to scatter or flee in a stampede.

   People stampeded from the burning theater.

2. 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

1. to cause to stampede.

2. to rush or overrun (a place).

   Customers stampeded the stores.

stampede British  

/ stæmˈpiːd /

noun

1. an impulsive headlong rush of startled cattle or horses

2. headlong rush of a crowd

   a stampede of shoppers

3. any sudden large-scale movement or other action, such as a rush of people to support a candidate

4. a rodeo event featuring fairground and social elements

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verb

1. to run away or cause to run away in a stampede

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• stampeder
  noun
• unstampeded
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• stampedes
  plural

Participles

• stampeding
  present
• stampeded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• stampede
  simple
• stampedes
  simple
• have stampeded
  perfect
• has stampeded
  perfect
• am stampeding
  progressive
• are stampeding
  progressive
• is stampeding
  progressive
• have been stampeding
  perfect progressive
• has been stampeding
  perfect progressive

Past

• stampeded
  simple
• had stampeded
  perfect
• was stampeding
  progressive
• were stampeding
  progressive
• had been stampeding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will stampede
  simple
• will have stampeded
  perfect
• will be stampeding
  progressive
• will have been stampeding
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of stampede

An Americanism first recorded in 1815–25; from Spanish estampida, equivalent to estamp(ar) “to stamp” + -ida noun suffix

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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!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stampede stampedes stampeded stampeding

But what about the elephant stampede that has been under way for the past few years?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

At his own stampede speech, Hogan called separatism "a poison" dividing families across the province.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

President Claudia Sheinbaum said authorities were investigating what went wrong during the deadly stampede at the Angel — but deflected blame from officials.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026

Then, right behind them, a stampede of men in UFC T-shirts: the Running of the Bros.

From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2026

At one point, my client sneezed violently, causing a virtual stampede in the courtroom; most observers believed he was casting a spell.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

The stampedes have been so intense that a number have been forced to institute caps on daily withdrawals.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 12, 2026

Deadly stampedes and crowd crushes are a common occurrence at big Indian gatherings and religious festivals.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2025

The deafening roar of the aircraft startled nearby livestock, sending cattle into panicked stampedes.

From BBC ● Mar. 23, 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

Anger stampedes through me, hot and lively, and the muffled feeling around my ears falls away, making even this quiet Abnegation street sound loud.

From "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth

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

AI stampeded into America’s collective consciousness over the last year with reports that a science fiction-worthy new tool was landing job interviews, writing publication-worthy books and acing the bar exam.

From Washington Times ● Dec. 24, 2023

They had stampeded in every direction, and we could not protect them.

From "Facing the Lion" by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton and Herman Viola

“Man I Need” reached No. 1, stampeding across TikTok.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

But it was the sight of loosehead prop Ox Nche stampeding through Ollie Chessum and Jamie George, with the England defence desperately, vainly backpedalling, that summed up a brutally chastening opening salvo.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 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

This was one of the stampeding Clock Watchers they’d spotted from Mr. Archie’s window earlier.

From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles

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