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 of cadre

• 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

That’s the conclusion of a fascinating New York Times investigation that details how increasing commercial pressures within OpenAI—and a new cadre of executives hired from traditional tech and social media companies—have been driving the company to design ChatGPT to keep users engaged. —Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 25 Nov. 2025

Chowdhury says that there is a growing cadre in government and industry who have bought into the hype around humanoids and believe that the world economy will be dominated by whoever cracks the problem first. —James Vincent, Harpers Magazine, 23 Nov. 2025

Gold prices have been smashing new records this year, and a growing cadre of wealthy investors and family offices are no longer content to let their gold bars sit idle in vaults. —Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 18 Nov. 2025

Behind the scenes, a small cadre of NBCUniversal executives from marketing, sponsorships, content, talent and public relations — and their teams — under the leadership of Frances Berwick, chairman of Bravo & Peacock unscripted, have worked nonstop for the last 11 months to pull off this feat. —Melinda Sheckells, HollywoodReporter, 14 Nov. 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

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!