stampede
n. countablen. a sudden, fast movement of a large group of animals or people. It usually happens because they are scared or excited and all run in the same direction at once.
n. a sudden, uncontrolled rush of a large group of animals or people, typically triggered by panic or collective excitement.
The loud noise caused a stampede among the cattle.
Security guards struggled to manage the crowd when a sudden stampede toward the stage began at the music festival.
The sudden crack of thunder ignited a massive stampede across the plains, as thousands of bison surged forward in a blind, panicked rush that shook the very ground.
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.
Often used with the preposition 'of' to specify the group involved, such as a 'stampede of shoppers' or a 'stampede of elephants'.