cavalry

noun

cav·​al·​ry ˈka-vəl-rē 

nonstandard

ˈkal-və-rē 

plural cavalries

1

a

: an army component mounted on horseback

b

: an army component moving in motor vehicles or helicopters and assigned to combat missions that require great mobility

2

: horsemen

a thousand cavalry in flight

Examples of cavalry in a Sentence

Cavalry is used to perform reconnaissance.

The cavalry were brought in to support the mission.

Recent Examples on the Web

Now the cavalry are here and while Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade may require time to settle, the theory is that Newcastle will no longer be over-reliant on a single, special player. —George Caulkin, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025

While Battlemechs remain the stars of the show, players who want to add tactics for infantry, cavalry and other modern warfare units can find a great entry point here. —Rob Wieland, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025

Director John Schlesinger insisted that all cavalry men before 1860 were right-handed, and so Stamp obliged. —Rhett Bartlett, HollywoodReporter, 17 Aug. 2025

But the federal-court cavalry didn't arrive in time for last week's squeeze. —Jim Cramer, CNBC, 10 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

earlier cavallerie, borrowed from Middle French cavalerie, borrowed from Italian cavalleria, earlier cavalaria "group of soldiers on horseback, branch of arms made up of such soldiers," from cavalliere, cavaliere "horseback rider, mounted soldier" + -eria, borrowed from Middle French -erie -ery — more at cavalier entry 2

First Known Use

1546, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing cavalry

• cavalry twill

Kids Definition

cavalry

noun

cav·​al·​ry ˈkav-əl-rē 

plural cavalries

: troops mounted on horseback or moving in motor vehicles or helicopters

Etymology

from Italian cavallerie "cavalry, chivalry," from cavaliere "cavalier, knight," derived from Latin caballarius "horseman," from earlier caballus "horse" — related to cavalier, chivalry see Word History at chivalry