cadre

noun

cad·​re ˈka-ˌdrā  ˈkä- 

-drē;

 especially British  ˈkä-də,

ˈkā-,

-drə

1

: a nucleus or core group especially of trained personnel able to assume control and to train others

broadly : a group of people having some unifying relationship

a cadre of lawyers

a cadre of technicians

2

: a cell of indoctrinated leaders active in promoting the interests of a revolutionary party

3

: a member of a cadre

4

: frame, framework

… the current specialisms and cadres of our university curricula …

—H. M. McLuhan

Did you know?

A wise man named Huey Lewis once sang that “it’s hip to be square.” As lexicographers—a hip cadre if ever there was one—we heartily agree with this sentiment, not least because the song (as performed by Lewis and his trusted cadre of bandmates dubbed “the News”) prompts us to ponder an etymological descendent (via French and Italian) of the Latin word for square, quadrum: cadre. Squares being a logical and standard shape for frames (as of window and picture varieties), it’s easy to understand why French speakers and later English speakers adopted cadre as a word meaning “frame.” A sense of cadre referring to a metaphorical framework for something (such as a novel or curriculum) soon developed. And if you consider a group of officers in a military regiment as the framework that holds things together for the unit, you’ll understand how yet another sense of cadre, referring to a nucleus of trained personnel, arose. Military leaders and their troops are well-trained and work together as a unified team, which may explain why cadre is now sometimes used more generally to refer to any group of people who have some kind of unifying characteristic—such as a belief in the heart of rock and roll, or perhaps the power of love.

Synonyms

• architecture
• armature
• configuration
• edifice
• fabric
• frame
• framework
• framing
• infrastructure
• shell
• skeleton
• structure

Examples of cadre in a Sentence

claims that the problem will never be solved within the existing cadre of the state bureaucracy

Recent Examples on the Web

Republicans are lining up behind Trump, from the speaker of the House to the cadre of Trump allies auditioning to be his vice presidential running mate. —Domenico Montanaro, NPR, 31 May 2024

Taking Political Lies to Court: A small but growing cadre of lawyers is deploying defamation, the legal concept of false information, against a tide of political disinformation in the Trump era. —Steven Lee Myers, New York Times, 29 May 2024

So, while former President Trump has been weathering the storm, President Biden has been protected by the cadre of aides assisting his presidency. —Letter Writers, Twin Cities, 26 May 2024

That activism and reach earned Masvidal entry into the secretive Non-Group, a cadre of 38 Miami businessmen who guided the city behind the scenes. —Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 25 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

French, from Italian quadro, from Latin quadrum square — more at quarrel

First Known Use

1763, in the meaning defined at sense 4

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