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What is the word in English which perfectly defines the death due to run and collision in a crowd?

It should be a verb and can be used something like in a street where people begin to run when some incident happens and die due to being pressed by one another, probably due to falling or something else..

Sorry, if I am not clear.

Thank you

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    "Trampled to death" is one common wording. – Hot Licks Jul 18 '15 at 12:42
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    "Trampled to death" applies to having fallen to the ground and being trodden on repeatedly. It's very graphic. Without falling, however, you can get crushed to death. Makes you want to stay at home? – Margana Jul 18 '15 at 13:44
  • By the way, in crowd crush, people usually die of asphyxiation, not from being trampled. – ermanen Jul 18 '15 at 13:57
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    You might want to wait a day or two before selecting an answer! You might get a much better one soon! :-) (Also people might not want to write you another answer if you've already selected one ...) – Araucaria - Not here any more. Jul 18 '15 at 14:53
  • Hahaha... @Araucaria Okay. I am waiting. – Nabin Jul 18 '15 at 14:56
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The noun and verb for this kind of behaviour is a stampede. Here's the relevant definition for the noun from the Oxford English Dictionary (not ODO):

2.

a. A sudden or unreasoning rush or flight of persons in a body or mass;

When used in its literal sense, not its figurative one, a stampede tends to imply the injury or death of some people. However, this is not part of the definition. Most people consider the main cause of death during a stampede to be trampling. Here is the relevant definition of trample from OED:

4.

a. trans. To tread heavily and (esp.) injuriously upon; to crush, break down, or destroy by heavy treading; also to trample down , to trample under foot .

However, this is in fact a misconception. Most people who die in a stampede die from compressive asphixiation (see under Forces on page 5 here). In ordinary language this basically means being suffocated by being squashed.

Refs:

"stampede, n." OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2015. Web. 18 July 2015.

"trample, v." OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2015. Web. 18 July 2015.

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  • Yes but stampede or trample doesn't cover "death". Is there a verb for "death by stampede" or "trample to death" ? – ermanen Jul 18 '15 at 14:10
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    @ermanen I don't know of one. But stampede does tend to imply death or injury. If no-one got hurt we wouldn't really consider it a stampede in the literal sense it seems to me ... No, that's the best I can do for now, but I'm still looking ... :) – Araucaria - Not here any more. Jul 18 '15 at 14:45
  • I couldn't think of any either. I think we need to mention "death" when using the verbs. But +1 for the answer. – ermanen Jul 18 '15 at 14:49
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    "Stampede" is often used in situations where no one is at serious risk of life and limb (eg, "when the gates opened the crowd stampeded to the refreshment stand"). It's also used to describe the actions of cattle or other non-human animals (it's original meaning), and to many is more familiar in that context rather than as a human stampede. – Hot Licks Jul 18 '15 at 17:07
  • Stampede just refers to a running crowd (more typically of ruminates than of humans). It suggests nothing about death or even about being trampled. No more than a foot race implies that someone will be trampled to death. – Drew Jul 18 '15 at 17:37

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