arcade

[ahr-keyd]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR arcade ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Architecture.

a series of arches supported on piers or columns.
an arched, roofed-in gallery.Compare colonnade.

an arched or covered passageway, usually with shops on each side.

an establishment, public area, etc., containing games of a mechanical and electronic type, as pinball and video games, that can be played by a customer for a fee.

an ornamental carving, as on a piece of furniture, in the form of a row of arches.

verb (used with object), ar·cad·ed, ar·cad·ing.

to provide with an arcade.

Origin of arcade

1725–35; < French < Italian arcata arch, equivalent to arc(o) arch (see arc) + -ata -ate¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for arcade

mall, gallery, walkway, portico, passageway, cloister, colonnade, piazza, loggia, stoa

Examples from the Web for arcade

Contemporary Examples of arcade

I remember the rush when I even got close to an Asteroids game in an arcade or a pizzeria.
‘Asteroids’ & The Dawn of the Gamer Age
David Owen
November 29, 2014
Even though it was a school day—about fifth period, I calculated—the arcade was filled with seventh graders.
‘Asteroids’ & The Dawn of the Gamer Age
David Owen
November 29, 2014
Marketing data from the initial field test indicated that the game was being played virtually every minute the arcade was open.
‘Asteroids’ & The Dawn of the Gamer Age
David Owen
November 29, 2014
Arcade Fire released the powerful music video for the song “We Exist,” featuring Andrew Garfield dressed as a woman.
Andrew Garfield in ‘We Exist’ and More Celebrities in Music Videos
Marina Watts
May 18, 2014
Arcade Fire kicked off the night with a live performance of “Afterlife.”
The YouTube Music Awards Were Alarmingly Strange and Epically Cool
Kevin Fallon
November 4, 2013

Historical Examples of arcade

This arcade, at the most, is thirty paces long by two in breadth.
Therese Raquin
Emile Zola
The arcade now assumes the aspect of a regular cut-throat alley.
Therese Raquin
Emile Zola
She accompanied the guests into the arcade, and Laurent also went down with a lamp in his hand.
Therese Raquin
Emile Zola
He arranged another meeting, and returned to the Arcade of the Pont Neuf.
Therese Raquin
Emile Zola
The shop in the Arcade of the Pont Neuf remained closed for three days.
Therese Raquin
Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for arcade

arcade

noun

a set of arches and their supporting columns

a covered and sometimes arched passageway, usually with shops on one or both sides

a building, or part of a building, with an arched roof

Word Origin for arcade

C18: from French, from Italian arcata, from arco, from Latin arcus bow, arch

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for arcade

1731 (as arcado, from 1640s), from Italian arcata "arch of a bridge," from arco "arc," from Latin arcus (see arc). Applied to passages formed by a succession of arches, avenues of trees, and ultimately to any covered avenue, especially one lined with shops (1731) or amusements; hence arcade game (1977).