Definition

1. Proper Noun:
   • The Great Depression: A specific, severe worldwide economic downturn that began in 1929 and lasted through most of the 1930s. It is characterized by a catastrophic stock market crash, massive bank failures, plummeting industrial production, severe deflation, and extremely high unemployment.

Usage

• The term Great Depression is always capitalized when referring to this specific historical event. It is used as a singular proper noun.
• It is commonly preceded by the definite article "the."

Examples

• Proper Noun:
  • Many families lost their life savings during the Great Depression.
  • Photographs from the Great Depression show long lines of people waiting for food.
  • Economic historians study the causes of the Great Depression.

Advanced Usage

• The term is sometimes used metaphorically to describe a period of profound economic hardship or personal difficulty, though this is less common.
  • After losing his business, he went through his own personal Great Depression.

Variants and Related Words

• Depression (n.): A general, sustained period of low economic activity and high unemployment. (e.g., ) This is the common noun form.
• Recession (n.): A period of temporary economic decline, less severe than a depression.
• The Dust Bowl (n.): A period of severe dust storms and drought that afflicted the Great Plains during the 1930s, exacerbating the hardships of the Great Depression.

Synonyms

• Economic catastrophe
• The 1930s slump/crisis

Related Phrases

• The stock market crash of 1929 / Black Tuesday: The event often cited as the beginning of the Great Depression.
• The New Deal: The series of programs and reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in response to the Great Depression.

Noun

1. a period during the 1930s when there was a worldwide economic depression and mass unemployment
2. the economic crisis beginning with the stock market crash in 1929 and continuing through the 1930s