cavalcade

noun cav·al·cade \ ˌka-vəl-ˈkād , ˈka-vəl-ˌ \

|Updated on: 16 Jul 2018

Examples: cavalcade in a Sentence

Editor's Note: The History of cavalcade

Definition of cavalcade

1 a : a procession (see ¹procession 1) of riders or carriages

b : a procession of vehicles or ships

2 : a dramatic sequence or procession : series

a cavalcade of natural disasters

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Examples of cavalcade in a Sentence

The cavalcade arrived at the hotel.
a cavalcade of antique cars
a cavalcade of natural disasters

Recent Examples of cavalcade from the Web

Families set out camping chairs in the shade of tall trees, sat on the curb or gathered on porches to watch the cavalcade.

— cortlynn stark, hana muslic, katie bernard and edward mckinley, kansascity, "From Prairie Village to Parkville, KC area celebrates the Fourth," 4 July 2018
Within days of that story being publicized by The San Diego Union-Tribune, a cavalcade of other alleged victims came forward.

— jeff mcdonald, sandiegouniontribune.com, "18th woman claim makes claim against Fischer," 25 June 2018
This fact was not lost on rap fans, as evidenced by a cavalcade of Twitter memes suggesting that beef might still be on the menu.

— Anchorage Daily News, "A guide to Beyonce and Jay-Z’s surprise joint album ‘Everything is Love’," 18 June 2018
Amy Schumer The comedian joined the cavalcade of celebrities sharing old photos of themselves with their pops.

— tyler mccarthy, Fox News, "Celebrities celebrate Father's Day 2018 on social media," 18 June 2018
Danny Coulombe was the latest in a cavalcade of relievers tasked with cleaning the mess Paul Blackburn left.

— chandler rome, Houston Chronicle, "Evan almighty: Gattis goes on another rampage as Astros wallop Athletics," 14 June 2018
June 9 Blue Lamp Sabi Kendrick, Jessica White Cloud, Aimee Gruber and Kristen Vacketta provide a quartet of vocal firepower smoldering over a cavalcade of jubilant brass and funky guitars to form the 11-piece ‘60s soul machine the Inciters.

— aaron davis, sacbee, "LA rocker Kaz Mirblouk heads up list of upcoming must-see shows," 8 June 2018
However, while Karius was the man rightly in the headlines for the wrong reasons, something doesn't sit right about the cavalcade of social media abuse the German stopper has received since Saturday night.

— SI.com, "Bouncing Back: Making the Case for Loris Karius as Liverpool's Long-Term Number One," 7 June 2018
His Homeward Bound — Farewell Tour will be a career-spanning two-hour-plus cavalcade of hits.

— dan deluca, Philly.com, "Summer concerts: U2, Lauryn Hill, Taylor Swift and more come to Philly," 6 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cavalcade.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The History of cavalcade

When cavalcade was first used in English, it meant "a horseback ride" or "a march or raid made on horseback." Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, used it this way in his 1647 History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England: "He had with some Troops, made a Cavalcade or two into the West." From there came the "procession of riders" meaning and eventual applications to processions in a broader sense. Cavalcade came to English via French from the Old Italian noun cavalcata, which in turn came from an Old Italian verb, cavalcare, meaning "to go on horseback." Ultimately, these words came from the Latin word caballus, meaning "horse." The combining form –cade also appears in other words describing particular kinds of processions, such as motorcade or the less common aquacade.

Origin and Etymology of cavalcade

French, ride on horseback, from Old Italian cavalcata, from cavalcare to go on horseback, from Late Latin caballicare, from Latin caballus horse; akin to Greek kaballeion horse, Middle Irish capall workhorse

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1644

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year