parade

American  

[puh-rayd] / pəˈreɪd /

noun

• parades
  plural

1. a large public procession, usually including a marching band and often of a festive nature, held in honor of an anniversary, person, event, etc.

2. a military ceremony involving the formation and marching of troop units, often combined with saluting the lowering of the flag at the end of the day.

3. the assembly of troops for inspection or display.

4. a place where troops regularly assemble for inspection or display.

5. a continual passing by, as of people, objects, or events.

   the parade of pedestrians past the office; the parade of the seasons.

6. an ostentatious display.

   to make a parade of one's religious beliefs.

7. Chiefly British.

   1. a group or procession of promenaders.

   2. a promenade.

8. Fortification. the level space forming the interior or enclosed area of a fortification.

9. Fencing. a parry.

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verb (used with object)

• parades,
  present (3rd person singular)
• paraded,
  past participle,  past
• parading
  present participle

1. to walk up and down on or in.

2. to make parade of; display ostentatiously.

   Synonyms:

   flourish, flaunt, show

   Antonyms:

   conceal

3. to cause to march or proceed for display.

verb (used without object)

• parades,
  present (3rd person singular)
• paraded,
  past participle,  past
• parading
  present participle

1. to march in a procession.

2. to promenade in a public place, especially in order to show off.

3. to assemble in military order for display.

4. to assume a false or misleading appearance.

   international pressure that parades as foreign aid.

parade British  

/ pəˈreɪd /

noun

1. an ordered, esp ceremonial, march, assembly, or procession, as of troops being reviewed

   on parade

2. Also called: parade ground. a place where military formations regularly assemble

3. a visible show or display

   to make a parade of one's grief

4. a public promenade or street of shops

5. a successive display of things or people

6. the interior area of a fortification

7. a parry in fencing

8. to hinder someone's enjoyment; upset someone's plans

9. 1. on display

   2. showing oneself off

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verb

1. to walk or march, esp in a procession (through)

   to parade the streets

2. (tr) to exhibit or flaunt

   he was parading his medals

3. (tr) to cause to assemble in formation, as for a military parade

4. (intr) to walk about in a public place

parade Idioms  

1. see hit parade; rain on one's parade.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• parader
  noun
• paradeful
  adjective
• paradeless
  adjective
• paradelike
  adjective
• unparaded
  adjective
• paradingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• parades
  plural

Participles

• parading
  present
• paraded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• parade
  simple
• parades
  simple
• have paraded
  perfect
• has paraded
  perfect
• am parading
  progressive
• are parading
  progressive
• is parading
  progressive
• have been parading
  perfect progressive
• has been parading
  perfect progressive

Past

• paraded
  simple
• had paraded
  perfect
• was parading
  progressive
• were parading
  progressive
• had been parading
  perfect progressive

Future

• will parade
  simple
• will have paraded
  perfect
• will be parading
  progressive
• will have been parading
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of parade

1650–60; < French, Middle French < Spanish parada a stop, stopping place, noun use of feminine of parado, past participle of parar to stop, end < Latin parāre to set. See compare, parry, -ade ¹

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Explanation

A parade is a group of people marching in ceremony, celebration, or protest. Often a parade involves fire trucks, costumed adults throwing candy to children, baton twirlers, and members of the armed forces. Parade is also a verb, meaning to walk or march ostentatiously. When your sister first brings home her prom dress, she might parade around the living room after putting it on so everyone can see it. As a noun parade is an event in which a whole lot of people march in the streets — they could be wearing prom dresses, but more likely they're celebrating of a holiday or taking part in a military action.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

parade parades paraded parading

Nearby a mass-produced printed cotton textile shows mangoes against a sea of fireworks during the National Day parade of the same year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

Los Javis prefer a bolder, blunter style, which turns the movie into a long parade of too-muchness that, in substance, ends up seeming not enough.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

Milwaukee sent a parade of four relievers to the mound for a second straight game Monday, and for a second straight game they didn’t give up a run, retiring the last 15 Dodgers in order.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

LA CROSSE, Wisconsin — September is both campaign season and parade season in Wisconsin, as communities across the state celebrate Oktoberfest and the harvest of fall crops like apples and pumpkins.

From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2026

I did not want to parade around Mississippi wearing one of her deceased, winged friends on my head.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

"I'd led 250 cadets on parades and then, for all of that to come crashing down when I didn't have a back-up plan, it was horrible."

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

Auto lovers have pushed for years to lessen emissions regulations for collector cars, arguing that these vintage vehicles are only driven short distances to parades and meet-ups where they deserve to be seen and cherished.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

Alicante has music for lunch, music for dancing, music for parades.

From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026

It was weeks before identity parades were arranged, and BTP did not approach the CPS for six months.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

Everyone is peevish and touchy, we do not take kindly to all this polishing, much less to the full-dress parades.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque

Dozens of people also paraded through the village on "salengs" -- scooters with sidecars used locally to transport coconuts -- brandishing placards featuring images of healthy, smiling livers.

From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026

The King's Baton was then paraded around the Hydro by swimmer Hannah Miley and para-cycling great Neil Fachie.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

France paraded its military arsenal from the Arc de Triomphe down the Champs-Élysées to the Place de la Concorde.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

Minutes earlier, the players paraded around Azteca Stadium — traditionally an impenetrable fortress — to applaud El Tri fans with tears in their eyes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026

The soldiers were paraded so close to the house, which stood flush with the sidewalkless street, that Johnny at first thought they must be in the room.

From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes

Thirteen councillors have been reported to the local government standards watchdog over conduct surrounding the parading dispute.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

But that’s a lot of big ifs stuffed into a trenchcoat, parading around social media as an inevitability.

From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026

Bonfires are lit annually in some unionist areas across Northern Ireland in July to usher in the Twelfth of July, the main date in the parading season.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

The dancers, costumed in their Saturday evening black-and-white vintage best, added to the parading splendor.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026

It’s Mardi Gras, so most people are parading through the streets, but there are a few people strolling along the lawn.

From "King and the Dragonflies" by Kacen Callender

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Related Words

• brandish
• demonstrate
• flash
• prance
• strut
• swagger
• trot out

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