I. stam ‧ pede 1 /stæmˈpiːd/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1800-1900 ; Language: American Spanish ; Origin: estampida , from Spanish , 'crash' , from estampar 'to stamp' ]
1 . when a group of people all want to do the same thing at the same time:
a stampede to buy shares in high-tech companies
2 . when a group of large animals or people suddenly start running in the same direction because they are frightened or excited:
a cattle stampede
II. stampede 2 BrE AmE verb
1 . [intransitive and transitive] if a group of large animals or people stampede, they suddenly start running together in the same direction because they are frightened or excited:
a herd of stampeding buffalo
Children came stampeding out of the school doors.
2 . be/get stampeded to be made frightened or worried so that you do something too quickly, without thinking enough about it
be/get stampeded into
Don’t get stampeded into any rash decisions.