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

• structure
• framework
• architecture

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

The cadre of help most wealthy people surround themselves with was nonexistent. —Joy Williams, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025

Very few Americans think about nuclear war these days, but the small cadre of experts who do have split views about A House of Dynamite. —Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 24 Oct. 2025

By October 7th, decision-making had migrated to the armed cadre. —Mohammed R. Mhawish, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2025

Her grandmother, Kitty’s sister Joan Vandermolen, rushed to Los Angeles to be by Erik and Lyle’s side, joining a growing cadre of aunts, uncles and cousins forming a protective bubble around the brothers. —Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 12 Oct. 2025

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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