# stampede

> English word · Noun · IPA /stæmˈpiːd/ · frequency rank #24,598

## Definitions
1. A wild, headlong running away or scamper of a number of animals, usually caused by fright.
2. 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.
3. An event at which cowboy skills are displayed; a rodeo.
4. A sudden unconcerted acting together of a number of persons due to, or as if due to, some common impulse.

## 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.

## Easily confused with
- **swamped** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stampede-vs-swamped)
- **stumped** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stampede-vs-stumped)
- **stamped** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stamped-vs-stampede)

## Common misspellings (12)
`satmpede`, `sstampede`, `stamepde`, `stammpede`, `stampdee`, `stampedde`, `stampeed`, `stamppede`, `stapmede`, `stmapede`, `sttampede`, `tsampede`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/stampede