gold rush

American

noun

a large-scale and hasty movement of people to a region where gold has been discovered, as to California in 1849.

gold rush British

noun

a large-scale migration of people to a territory where gold has been found

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of gold rush

An Americanism dating back to 1875–80

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

As almost everybody knows, the AI gold rush is upon us.

From Los Angeles Times

For now, mining is largely done in ways reminiscent of the United States' gold rush in the 19th century, when so many ended up exhausted in a futile hunt for treasure.

From Barron's

What she couldn’t have realized on that afternoon in the Dolomites was that her success would touch off a stunning gold rush for the rest of Team USA.

From The Wall Street Journal

A gold rush has gripped an informal settlement east of the South African city of Johannesburg, after reports spread a few days ago about the discovery of some gold particles.

From BBC

MILAN—They came to Italy for a gold rush.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023