plural arcades
1
: a long arched building or gallery
2
a
: an arched covered passageway or avenue (as between shops)
b
chiefly British
: a building that includes many shops
A job fair … today will introduce locals to the details of the 250 jobs that a new shopping arcade will bring when its doors open this autumn.—
The Journal (Newcastle, England)
The Journal (Newcastle, England)3
: a series of arches with their columns or piers
4
: an amusement center having coin-operated games
Examples of arcade in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
To examine this, Hanke and the team essentially set up an arcade for seals with a gaming challenge.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 29 May 2025
The game was officially released on May 22, 1980 in Japanese arcades before launching in the United States in October 1980, according to the Pac-Man website.
—Melina Khan, USA Today, 23 May 2025
Among the rubble, Bradburn managed to find a prop gun on the floor and an arcade with the original machines.
—Reem Amro, FOXNews.com, 18 May 2025
Unlike all those examples, though, the Davis Center feels open and airy — more like the park’s Bethesda Terrace, which negotiates the drop from the mall to the lake near 72nd Street with staircases that flank an arcade.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for arcade
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Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 29 May 2025
The game was officially released on May 22, 1980 in Japanese arcades before launching in the United States in October 1980, according to the Pac-Man website.
—Melina Khan, USA Today, 23 May 2025
Among the rubble, Bradburn managed to find a prop gun on the floor and an arcade with the original machines.
—Reem Amro, FOXNews.com, 18 May 2025
Unlike all those examples, though, the Davis Center feels open and airy — more like the park’s Bethesda Terrace, which negotiates the drop from the mall to the lake near 72nd Street with staircases that flank an arcade.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for arcade
Cite this Entry
“Arcade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arcade. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
arcade
noun
ar·cade
är-ˈkād 
1
: a row of arches with the columns that support them
2
: an arched or covered passageway (as between shops)
3
: a place with many games to be played by putting coins or tokens in them
Medical Definition
arcade
noun
ar·cade
är-ˈkād
1
: an anatomical structure comprising a series of arches
2
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