cakewalk

noun

cake·​walk ˈkāk-ˌwȯk 

1

a

: a one-sided contest : an easy victory

In states and localities across America, good times are making for reelection cakewalks.

—Douglas Foster

b

: an easy task

… it's no cakewalk to raise a family on two part-time salaries, even for a little while.

—Belinda Luscombe

2

: an African American entertainment having a cake as prize for the most accomplished steps and figures in walking

3

: a stage dance developed from walking steps and figures typically involving a high prance with backward tilt

cakewalk intransitive verb

cakewalker noun

Synonyms

• breeze
• cake
• child's play
• cinch
• cream puff
• duck soup
• kid stuff
• picnic
• pushover
• roses
• snap

Examples of cakewalk in a Sentence

She expected the election to be a cakewalk.

Reducing the state budget is not going to be a cakewalk.

Recent Examples on the Web

Gradually, Juneteenth transformed into a grand holiday when high-stepping parades, beauty pageants, and cakewalks were as likely to be included in the ceremonies as preaching and remembering the trials of enslavement. —Jessica B. Harris, Southern Living, 13 May 2024

How to Hit Low-House 6 As the last obstacle before the cakewalk of stations 7 and 8, station 6 is where straights go to die. —Phil Bourjaily, Field & Stream, 21 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1863, in the meaning defined at sense 2