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History vocabulary · Economic History

Great Depression

Meaning in history, with examples

nounCommon term

In history, Great Depression means: The severe worldwide economic crisis that followed the Wall Street Crash of October 1929 and lasted through much of the 1930s, bringing mass unemployment and falling trade.

In Turkish: Büyük Buhran, 1929 Dünya Ekonomik Krizi

How it is used

Written with capitals. Historians study its causes, its spread through trade and banking, and its political effects, including the rise of extremist movements and a larger role for the state in the economy, such as the New Deal in the United States.

Example sentences

  1. Prices for Turkish exports such as tobacco fell sharply during the Great Depression.

  2. Unemployment in the United States reached about a quarter of the workforce during the Great Depression.

Common collocations

  • the Great Depression
  • the Wall Street Crash
  • the effects of the Depression
  • the interwar economy
  • industrializationThe process by which an economy shifts from mainly farming and handicrafts to large-scale manufacturing in factories using machines.
  • world warA war in which most of the world's major powers take part and fighting spreads across several continents; in practice, the wars of 1914–1918 and 1939–1945.
  • agrarianRelating to farming, land and the people who work it, or describing a society or economy based mainly on agriculture.
  • social classA group of people in a society who share a similar economic position, such as wealth, occupation or education, and often similar status and opportunities.

More terms: Economic History

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