Meaning & use

bank run

noun·Academic

A situation in which many depositors withdraw their money from a bank at the same time, fearing it will fail.

See it in a sentence

News of the bank's troubles triggered a bank run that lasted for days.

Regulators stepped in quickly to prevent a bank run from spreading to other institutions.

A note on using this word

A bank run can become self-fulfilling: fear that a bank will collapse can cause enough withdrawals to actually cause the collapse.

Words with a similar meaning

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