stampede

American  

[stam-peed] / stæmˈpid /

noun

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.

---

verb (used without object)

stampeded, stampeding

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)

stampeded, stampeding

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

---

verb

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

Other Word Forms

• stampeder noun
• unstampeded adjective

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!

Example Sentences

Stress has been building, as a spate of defaults and losses, combined with fears about the fate of loans to software companies, caused a stampede of individual investors asking for their money back.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

But with plenty of borrowed money going into speculative trades—especially silver—it didn’t take much to cause a stampede for the exits, especially with commodity exchange CME Group also raising margin requirements on various metals.

From Barron's • Feb. 2, 2026

That's when "a stampede" began for the main exit, she says, and Fred desperately pushed her ahead in the crowd.

From BBC • Jan. 17, 2026

The stampede to move to AI to offset tariff costs has put significant upward pressure on the costs for equipment, software and construction of hyperscale data centers.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 8, 2026

He fell on the couch, hopping and stumbling, almost landing on Mary Anne, who joined the frenzied stampede of siblings for the stairs.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

Related Words

• panic