cadence

noun

ca·​dence ˈkā-dᵊn(t)s How to pronounce cadence (audio)
plural cadences
1
a
: the beat, time, or measure of rhythmical motion or activity
The drill sergeant counted cadence.
the steady cadence of the drums
b
: a rhythmic sequence or flow of sounds in language
the grand cadence of his poetry
c
: a regular and repeated pattern of activity
In addition to our weekly cadence, we take a step back once a quarter to think about our platform a little more strategically.David Vandegrift
To meet its cadence of a launch every other week, SpaceX must build at least two of these each month.Eric Berger
Then in the evening, it's off to the boxing gym or a sparring session for two to three more hours. In recent years, she's kept a cadence of two to four fights annually, her last being a loss for the WBC light middleweight world title in Poland in September.Deanna Cioppa
2
a
: a falling inflection of the voice
b
: a concluding and usually falling strain
specifically : a musical chord sequence moving to a harmonic close or point of rest and giving the sense of harmonic completion
3
: the modulated and rhythmic recurrence of a sound especially in nature
cadenced adjective
cadential adjective

Did you know?

Cadence and Music

A cadence is a rhythm, or a flow of words or music, in a sequence that is regular (or steady as it were). But lest we be mistaken, cadence also lends its meaning to the sounds of Mother Nature (such as birdsong) to be sure. Cadence comes from Middle English borrowed from Medieval Latin’s own cadentia, a lovely word that means “rhythm in verse.” (You may also recognize a cadence cousin, sweet cadenza, as a word that is familiar in the opera universe.) And from there our cadence traces just a little further backward to the Latin verb cadere “to sound rhythmically, to fall.” Praise the rising and the falling of the lilting in our language, whether singing songs or rhyming or opining on it all.

Did you know?

Cadence in the Military

Cadence can refer to any rhythmic sequence of words or sound, but in military contexts, the word has a particular meaning, referring to the rhythmic chants sung by soldiers in marching formation.

These chants can often help keep marchers in line with the rhythm of the march:

Early each morning we were assembled for drill, marching to the cadence of a full-throated Marine sergeant who had little use for us; what he knew for sure about us was that we would be of little value in any hand-to-hand fight.
Lewis Thomas, in Authors at Sea, 1997

Examples of cadence in a Sentence

the steady cadence of the drums Oars moved back and forth in smooth cadence. He speaks with a soft Southern cadence.
Recent Examples on the Web Part of this concern is driven by the quickening cadence of global conflicts, with ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and concerns about a crisis in the Taiwan Strait. Jami Miscik, Foreign Affairs, 11 Mar. 2024 Rakim’s rapping on Paid in Full set the precedent for other MCs to follow, with his lyrical dexterity and hypnotic cadence. Kyle Eustice, SPIN, 27 Feb. 2024 There’s something old-fashioned about his comic style, a ba-da-bump in his cadence, a touch of vaudeville in his pivots. Jason Zinoman, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2024 The strength of the words, too, depends on their ability to capture the ex-President’s oratorical cadence. Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2024 The company has also struggled to figure out the right cadence for its film releases. Matt Donnelly, Variety, 1 Mar. 2024 The company is clearly struggling to find the right cadence for releasing AI. Will Knight, WIRED, 29 Feb. 2024 When Buckingham relocated to Greeley, Colorado, in mid-2022, so too did the mailbox and its regular cadence of envelopes from hopeful bakers. Denver Post, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2024 This should include detailed information on the committee structure (with deep dives on the committees the new board member is joining), meeting cadence, etc. Melanie Hughes, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cadence.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, "rhythm of prose or verse, rhetorical periods," borrowed from Medieval Latin cadentia "rhythm in verse," noun derivative (formally feminine singular from neuter plural) of Latin cadent-, cadens, present participle of cadere "to fall, sound rhythmically, end, terminate (of words or clauses)" — more at chance entry 1

Note: Since at least the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (1888), this word has been attributed to Italian, either directly or through French. However, attestations of French cadence and Italian cadenza are significantly later than the first occurrences of cadence in Middle English (ca. 1390) and early Scots (ca. 1420). (The word also occurs in Chaucer's House of Fame, composed ca. 1380 and attested earliest in a manuscript of ca. 1450.) In Medieval Latin cadentia appears in the approximate sense "verse rhythm" (pedum cadentia) in John of Garland's Parisiana poetria (composed ca. 1234).

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Time Traveler
The first known use of cadence was in the 14th century

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Dictionary Entries Near cadence

Cite this Entry

“Cadence.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cadence. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

cadence

noun
ca·​dence ˈkād-ᵊn(t)s How to pronounce cadence (audio)
1
a
: rhythmic flow of sounds : the beat of rhythmic motion or activity
2
: a melodic or rhythmic pattern that serves as the close of a musical phrase or composition
cadenced adjective

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