cascade

1 of 2

noun

cas·​cade (ˌ)kas-ˈkād How to pronounce cascade (audio)
1
: a steep usually small fall of water
especially : one of a series
2
a
: something arranged or occurring in a series or in a succession of stages so that each stage derives from or acts upon the product of the preceding
blood clotting involves a biochemical cascade
b
: a fall of material (such as lace) that hangs in a zigzag line and that is used especially in clothing and draperies
3
: something falling or rushing forth in quantity
a cascade of sound
a cascade of events
Her hair was arranged in a cascade of curls.

cascade

2 of 2

verb

cascaded; cascading

intransitive verb

: to fall, pour, or rush in or as if in a cascade
The water cascaded over the rocks.
Her hair cascaded down around her shoulders.

transitive verb

1
: to cause to fall like a cascade
2
: to connect in a cascade arrangement

Examples of cascade in a Sentence

Noun Her hair was arranged in a cascade of curls. That decision set off a cascade of events. Verb The water cascades over the rocks. Her hair cascaded down around her shoulders.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Playing Cheer Up Charlie’s, the New York noise quartet — two guys mashing samplers, two other guys going ham on two drum kits — unleashed a nonstop cascade of carnival-barker vocals and a relentless synthetic stomp. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rolling Stone, 16 Mar. 2024 Think: a berry colored cascade of faux flowers that completely envelop the wearer from head to toe, look number four from Noir Kei Ninomiya’s fall 2023 collection. Kristen Bateman, Vogue, 16 Mar. 2024 The next room, a 5,000-square-foot space with 40-foot ceilings, uses 26 projectors to display shifting, contorting images from Nachum’s artwork: a giant bird flapping its wings, a cascade of flower petals, a person wearing a crown with Braille on it. Christopher Kuo, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2024 This sudden impact can cause the brain to jostle around within the skull, triggering a cascade of chemical changes and potentially damaging and stretching individual brain cells. Max Bennett, Discover Magazine, 20 Feb. 2024 The heat that those waters release into the atmosphere causes a cascade of changes in weather patterns around the world. Quentin Septer, Scientific American, 16 Feb. 2024 In recent years, there’s been a cascade of studies and clinical trials seeking to understand the effects of substances like psilocybin, MDMA, and others, as well as their potential to treat mental health ailments like addiction, depression and anxiety. Tiney Ricciardi, The Denver Post, 6 Feb. 2024 And the cascade of praise and recognition from other awards-giving bodies (notably SAG), in addition to the numerous moving speeches Gladstone has given already, has primed her to walk away with a statuette come Oscar night. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 4 Mar. 2024 But a growing number of warning signs have begun to flash to suggest the ongoing cascade of layoffs has begun to weigh down the overall employment picture for the Bay Area tech industry. George Avalos, The Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2024
Verb
At the tail end of Paris Fashion Week, Balenciaga showed off a pair of skinny jeans with bleached creases cascading down the thigh that were conjoined with over-the-knee black stiletto boots. Liana Satenstein, Vogue, 14 Mar. 2024 But if the New York trial were to be pushed back into the summer, that could have a cascading affect on any Trump trials scheduled later this year. Devlin Barrett, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2024 And perhaps most infamously, Jennifer Lawrence, who was on stage with Stone tonight (as one of the former Best Actress winners who introduced this year’s nominees), took a tumble when accepting her Oscar for Best Actress in 2013 due to the hemline on her cascading Dior Haute Couture gown. Taylor Nicioli, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024 The design featured petal-like details cascading down from the bust. Brittany Talarico, Peoplemag, 11 Mar. 2024 Western officials and military experts have warned that without U.S. assistance, a cascading collapse along the front is a real possibility this year. Thomas Gibbons-Neff, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024 And changes to the region’s white sharks could bring cascading effects through the ecosystem. Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Mar. 2024 The lake cascaded into the Atlantic Ocean, where the freshwater pooled over the denser seawater, disrupting the convection current carrying warm water north from the tropics. Zach St. George, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024 Over time leaves gracefully cascade down with bright red flowers emerging from dark maroon calyxes. Kristin Guy, Sunset Magazine, 5 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cascade.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

French, from Italian cascata, from cascare to fall, from Vulgar Latin *casicare, from Latin casus fall

First Known Use

Noun

1641, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1702, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of cascade was in 1641

Dictionary Entries Near cascade

Cite this Entry

“Cascade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cascade. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

cascade

1 of 2 noun
cas·​cade kas-ˈkād How to pronounce cascade (audio)
: a steep usually small waterfall

cascade

2 of 2 verb
cascaded; cascading
: to fall in or as if in a cascade

Medical Definition

cascade

noun
cas·​cade (ˌ)kas-ˈkād How to pronounce cascade (audio)
: a molecular, biochemical, or physiological process occurring in a succession of stages each of which is closely related to or depends on the output of the previous stage
a cascade of enzymatic reactions
the cascade of events comprising the immune response

More from Merriam-Webster on cascade

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