panicpan·ic1 /ˈpænɪk/ noun [countableC, uncountableU]1a feeling of great fear and anxiety that makes you act without thinkingThe stock market crash left an air of panic from which many individual investors still haven’t recovered.
By announcing future price increases, the administration touched off a consumer panic.
2panic buying/selling/trading when people are so anxious or worried about the future that they buy or sell goods, shares etc without thinking carefully firstManila shares plunged 10.9% in panic selling.
At a supermarket in Brussels, panic buying got so furious that the managers stopped trying to put sugar, coffee and mineral water on the shelves.