stampede Hear it!

stampede Definition

stam·pede (stam pēd)

noun

  1. a sudden, headlong running away of a group of frightened animals, esp. horses or cattle
  2. a confused, headlong rush or flight of a large group of people
  3. any sudden, impulsive, spontaneous mass movement a stampede to support a candidate

Etymology: AmSp estampida < Sp, a crash, uproar < estampar, to stamp < Gmc *stampjan, stamp

intransitive verb -·peded, -·ped·ing

to move, or take part, in a stampede

transitive verb

  1. to cause to stampede
  2. to make a headlong charge at or upon as a group panicked patrons stampeded the exits

stampede Related Forms

stam·peder noun

stampede Synonyms

stampede

n.

rush, dash, flight, rout; see run 1.

stampede Synonyms

stampede

v.

bolt, rush, panic; see run 2.

stampede Usage Examples

Object

  • herd: W Leon Smith When principles stampede the herd British Journalism Review Vol.
  • horse: The dogs rushed to get into the house and the horses stampeded to the far side of the property.
  • elephant: The guitars still sound like a herd of stampeding elephants and the percussion is meatier than Spam.
  • buffalo: For over two thousand years, Indians stampeded buffalo over the mile-long cliff.
  • cattle: The cattle stampeded and the cowboys rode in an opposite direction.

Converse of object

  • cause: Dodging a charging cheetah or causing an elephant stampede is just a typical afternoon for tiny Tarzan!
  • join: This will be telling you to join the stampede of people rushing to the bar to order their last drink of the evening!
  • start: He gave them a wide berth, but the 2 guys a little distance in front ran very close and nearly started a stampede.
  • ensue: In the ensuing folk rock stampede, Vanguard never did reap the huge folk rock sales of Columbia or even its indie rival Elektra.
  • spark: Last week, several hundred Shia pilgrims in Baghdad were killed in a stampede sparked by rumors of a suicide bomber in their midst.
  • lead: Supermarkets corral Brazilian beef to lead stampede for bigger profits.

Adjective modifier

wild: When Team Rocket show up to cause trouble - the Exeggutor go on a wild stampede!

Modifying Another Word

  • regularly: The German horses turned round terrified and regularly stampeded.
  • back: I felt the old pangs of blinkered rationalization stampeding back to me like the Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Noun used with modifier

  • cattle: In the dry, conditions resemble a cattle stampede, and riders struggle not to choke on the dust.
  • buffalo: We narrowly missed being caught in a buffalo stampede, tried herding giraffe and disturbed a leopard on its evening hunt.

Followed by a transitive particle

down: Anxious not to miss out, they bolted for the door and stampeded down the stairs... Exactly what happened next is unclear.

Preposition: of

  • traffic: Smartpages are highly optimized pages which draw stampeded of search engine traffic to your website....or so the sales blurb goes.
  • people: This will be telling you to join the stampede of people rushing to the bar to order their last drink of the evening!

Preposition: for

exit: Some move forward to intervene, others stampede for the exits.