cadre

[ka-drey, kah-drey]

noun

1. Military.,  the key group of officers and enlisted personnel necessary to establish and train a new military unit.

2. a group of trained or otherwise qualified personnel capable of forming, training, or leading an expanded organization, as a religious or political faction, or a skilled workforce.

   They hoped to form a cadre of veteran party members.

3. (especially in Communist countries) a cell of trained and devoted workers.

4. a member of a cadre; a person qualified to serve in a cadre.

5. a framework, outline, or scheme.

cadre

/ ˈkɑːdə /

noun

1. the nucleus of trained professional servicemen forming the basis for the training of new units or other military expansion

2. a basic unit or structure, esp of specialists or experts; nucleus; core

3. a group of revolutionaries or other political activists, esp when taking part in military or terrorist activities

4. a member of a cadre

cadre

1. An elite or select group that forms the core of an organization and is capable of training new members.

Word History and Origins

Origin of cadre¹

First recorded in 1905–10; from French: “frame, border, bounds, cadre” (metaphorically, the cadre being the framework into which temporary personnel are fit), from Italian quadro, from Latin quadrum “square”; quadri-

Word History and Origins

Origin of cadre¹

C19: from French, from Italian quadro, from Latin quadrum square

Example Sentences

But behind the cadre of celebrity sponsors and investors, court documents reveal trouble was brewing inside Aspiration.

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Meanwhile, it would only be another two decades before a new cadre of rock writers, hungry for their own version of sleazy, glamorous rock privilege, manifested the Strokes.

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After an inconsistent start to the season for USC’s secondary, the defensive coordinator stood in front of a cadre of cameras and didn’t mince words.

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On August 3, 2025, a cadre of Texas House Democrats left the state to deny the Legislature the headcount necessary to pass a new congressional map gerrymandered to flip several Democratic districts.

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Alongside carpenters and nurses and dockworkers, there were also representatives from a cadre of entertainment industry unions representing actors, writers and production workers.

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Related Words

• organization 
• personnel 
• staff