estampede

Noun

stampede (plural stampedes)

1. A wild, headlong running away or scamper of a number of animals, usually caused by fright.
   • [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.a. 1865 (date written), Nathaniel Hawthorne, chapter XVIII, in Julian Hawthorne, editor, Doctor Grimshawe’s Secret: A Romance […], Boston, Mass.: James R[ipley] Osgood and Company, published 1883...

   Synonyms:

   crush, flight, jam, rush, stampedo, trampling

2. (broadly) 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.
   • The annual Muslim Hajj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, which is attended by millions of pilgrims, has increasingly suffered from stampedes.

   Synonyms:

   crush, rush

3. (Canada, US, broadly) An event at which cowboy skills are displayed; a rodeo.
4. (figuratively) A sudden unconcerted acting together of a number of persons due to, or as if due to, some common impulse.
   • a stampede toward US bonds in the credit markets

See all 12 meanings of stampede