What does stampede mean?
Word: Stampede
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Stampede means a sudden rush of frightened animals, or of excited people, all moving in the same direction at once.
Synonyms: rush, charge, dash
Word origin: It reached English in the early 1800s from Mexican Spanish estampida.
How do you spell stampede?
Syllables: stam - pede
Tricky part: The word is built on stamp, so the m and p sit together, and the stress falls on the last syllable.
Watch out for: stanpede, stamepede
Memory tip: Think of hooves that stamp the ground: the word begins with stamp.
Stampede in a sentence
Example 1: A loud firecracker set off a stampede among the cattle at the village fair.
Example 2: When the gates opened for the sale, there was a stampede towards the toy counter.
Example 3: The film showed a wildebeest stampede crossing a muddy river.
Fun Fact
The Calgary Stampede in Canada is a ten-day rodeo and festival held every July that attracts more than a million visitors.
Practise the CREST Way
Back to the Roots
Choose the correct option:
Stampede comes from the Spanish word estampida. What did estampida mean?
a) a quick escape
b) a crash or uproar
c) a dusty trail
d) a herd of cattle
Show answer
b) a crash or uproar. Spanish estampida meant a crash or uproar, just the noise a running herd makes.
Spellacadabra
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
stamp_ _ _
a) ead
b) ede
c) eed
d) ide
Show answer
b) ede. The ending is the same as in centipede, another word about many feet.
Jumble Tumble
Choose the correct sequence of the jumbled letters to form a meaningful word:
pemdates 12345678
a) 68531247
b) 86531247
c) 86351247
d) 87654321
Show answer
b) 86531247. The word begins with the s in position 8; the decoys swap a and m or start on the wrong letter.
Sound Check
Which word does not rhyme with stampede?
a) indeed
b) agreed
c) spread
d) succeed
Show answer
c) spread. Spread has the short e of bed; indeed, succeed and agreed end with the long sound of seed, as stampede does.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Pick the scene that is least like a stampede.
a) an orderly queue at a ticket window
b) fans rushing towards an open gate
c) horses bolting across a field
d) cattle charging away from a storm
Show answer
a) an orderly queue at a ticket window
2. What is most likely to set off a stampede in a herd?
a) a slow sunset
b) a gentle evening breeze
c) a sudden clap of thunder
d) a herder humming softly
Show answer
c) a sudden clap of thunder
