gold rushn.
/ˈɡəʊld rʌʃ/, U.S. /ˈɡoʊld ˌrəʃ/ 1. A sudden migration of large numbers of people to a place believed to be rich in gold. Cf. rush n.2 4c.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > mining > [noun] > for gold > rush to goldfields in search of gold
gold rush1848
1848 Oregon Spectator 10 Aug. 2/3 California Star—expects to suspend publication because of Sacramento valley gold rush.
1856 Bendigo (Victoria) Advertiser 8 Aug. The development of higher aims or more ennobling pursuits out of the chaos of a gold rush.
1907 J. M. Guinn Hist. Calif. I. xlii. 298/2 The famous Kern river gold rush of 1855 brought an influx of population.
1986 W. Clement Struggle to Organize iii. 35 Many of the Chinese had been attracted to North America during the gold rushes of earlier years, but later arrivals were recruited directly as cannery labour.
2009 C. Whitehead Sag Harbor 125 His grandparents were friends of the first generation, but they'd never bought a house during the gold rush.
2. figurative. A rush towards a place, situation, etc., that offers (or appears to offer) new opportunities, esp. for making a lot of money quickly; a highly lucrative situation, typically of a limited duration.
ΚΠ
1914 World's Work June 217 (heading) The latest business gold-rush. How motion pictures have produced thirty new American millionaires in the last six years.
1925 H. Crane Let. 10 July (1965) 210 The present national craze of flocking to Miami... In such ‘gold rushes’ watch out for the boom psychology that animates everyone.
1990 M. Crichton Jurassic Park (1991) p. ix The late twentieth century has witnessed a scientific gold rush..: the headlong and furious haste to commercialise genetic engineering.
2003 BusinessWeek 17 Nov. 14/1 U.S. magazines are hurting, but China is enjoying a glossy gold rush.
3. A sudden rise in the purchasing of gold, esp. as a secure investment against inflation.
ΚΠ
1932 Lit. Digest 9 Apr. 27 (heading) A ‘gold rush’ turns John Bull to John Bullion.
1933 Ann. Reg. 1932 24 A strong demand for gold arose in Holland and other countries, inspired..by the Bank of England... The ‘gold rush’ lasted nearly three weeks.
1968 Guardian 7 Mar. 15/5 The international monetary situation remains very unsettled... The latest gold rush is a direct reflection of the general nervousness.
2014 P. Mallouk 5 Mistakes Every Investor makes & how to avoid Them 139 There is a gold rush taking place, with investors adding more and more of their portfolio to the precious metal.
Derivatives
ˈgold ˌrusher n. a person who participates in a gold rush.
ΚΠ
1894 Morning Post 18 June 6/5 Gold rushers may here be found resting from their toils.
1940 N.Y. Times 28 May l. 21/4 A life story of Joe Boyle, who in his lifetime was a British agent, a New York prizefight manager, sailor, gambler, goldrusher and millionaire miner.
2009 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 8 Oct. 34/2 Today's Imperial Valley was first encountered by Spanish conquistadors and later by mid-nineteenth-century gold rushers as a near-impassable desert.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1848