stampede
/stæmˈpid/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.13 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A wild, headlong running away or scamper of a number of animals, usually caused by fright.
noun
A situation in which many people in a crowd are trying to move in the same direction at the same time, especially in consequence of a panic.
noun
A sudden unconcerted acting together of a number of persons due to, or as if due to, some common impulse.
verb
To cause (a drove or herd of animals) to run away or scamper in a wild, headlong manner, usually due to fright.
Transitive verb
verb
To cause (people in a crowd) to move in the same direction at the same time, especially due to panic.
Transitive verb
Example Sentences
- "[T]hey saw a herd of deer reposing, who, on their appearance, rose from their recumbent position, and began to gaze warily at the strangers; then, tossing their horne, they set off on a stampede, but only swept round, and settled down not far from where they were."
- "Then, like a stream of white bees pouring from a huge swarm, the steers stretched out from the main body. In a few moments, with astonishing rapidity, the whole herd got into motion. […] "It's a stampede, an' a hummer," said Lassiter. […] ["]That stampede will pass within a mile of us.""
- "The annual Muslim Hajj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, which is attended by millions of pilgrims, has increasingly suffered from stampedes."
- "Say, Smoke, this ain't no stampede. It's a exode-us. They must be a thousand men ahead of us an' ten thousand behind."
- "I asked the conductor if he would ask Chester to hold the 16.35 to Euston—the last through train on a Saturday—but he said Virgin won't hold anything. We came to a stand at Chester at 16.35, and there was a sizeable stampede down the platform for the London train, but it had gone."
- "a stampede toward US bonds in the credit markets"
Etymology
The noun is derived from Mexican Spanish estampida (“a stampede”), from Spanish estampida, estampido (“a bang, a crack (sound)”), from Old Occitan estampida, from Gothic *𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌼𐍀𐌾𐌰𐌽 (*stampjan), from Proto-Germanic *stampōną (“to compress, squeeze; to stamp”), from Proto-Indo-European *stembʰ- (“to trample down”). The verb is derived from the noun.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *stembʰ-, estampida, *𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌼𐍀𐌾𐌰𐌽, *stampōną
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /stæmˈpid/
- British English: /stæmˈpiːd/
Usage
- Canadian usage
- American usage
- Transitive verb
- Intransitive verb