arcade

American  

[ahr-keyd] / ɑrˈkeɪd /

noun

arcades plural

1. Architecture.

   1. a series of arches supported on piers or columns.

   2. an arched, roofed-in gallery.

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

3. 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.

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

---

verb (used with object)

arcaded, arcading

1. to provide with an arcade.

arcade British  

/ ɑːˈkeɪd /

noun

1. a set of arches and their supporting columns

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

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

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• arcades
  plural

Etymology

Origin of arcade

First recorded in 1725–35; from French, from Italian arcata “arch,” equivalent to arc(o) “arch” + -ata; see arc -ate ¹

Explanation

An arcade is a structure made by enclosing a series of arches and columns. The word's roots go back to the Latin word "arcus," which means arc or bow. An arched, covered passageway with shops or stalls on the sides is also called an arcade and was a precursor to the shopping mall. The Burlington Arcade in London opened in 1819 and was the first shopping arcade of its kind in Britain. It still exists and is the longest covered shopping street in England. As more of these shopping arcades opened, they also began offering games and eventually the word's meaning came to include video arcades, where you can play coin-operated games.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

arcade arcades arcaded arcading

An arcade, arts-and-crafts studio or children’s museum is a natural location for a kid’s birthday party.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

In another lawsuit, he claimed an arcade rigged its claw machines against players, alleging it functioned as “a casino for children.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

Grown-ups want to party in the arcade too.

From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026

Beyond the arcade, visitors can enjoy mini golf, karaoke, themed events and monthly performances like Queer Circus.

From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026

With the forest burning to the right and the left, the colonists' boats passed through a channel of fire, their passengers as goggle-eyed at the blaze as children at a video arcade.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Reductions to tax relief for vape shops and gambling arcades will help to pay for the £100 million a year cost of the measure.

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

Instead of water parks and arcades there are private spas and secluded pools.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 18, 2026

And while a modern Chuck E. Cheese is school-cafeteria bright, Chuck’s Arcade is dark, its black walls and low lighting recalling the arcades of the ’80s and ’90s.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2025

Not churches, not schools — Chuck E. Cheese-style pizza arcades, where the air smells like old fryer oil and fresh anticipation, and an animatronic animal band plays on, unfazed by the passing decades.

From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2025

I went down-stairs and out the door and took a walk around through the arcades around the square.

From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway

Scenes of piazzas, arcaded streets and markets float through this podcast with Kathy McCabe, the host of the PBS “Dream of Italy” series.

From New York Times ● Apr. 9, 2020

The chapel was very small with a domed, red-tiled roof and round arcaded windows.

From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2014

From arcaded passageways, the museums open onto a domed chapel and a peaceful courtyard with the new Charité Café and a general bookstore.

From New York Times ● Sep. 6, 2013

There are two streets which are arcaded, where activities are limited, eg preventing the playing of radios or busking.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 17, 2012

They were grouped round an open square, surrounded by a vaulted and arcaded passage, which is known as the cloister.

From Architecture Gothic and Renaissance by Smith, T. Roger (Thomas Roger)

The front is in three stages; the lowest stage contains the three doorways, and is surmounted by a very elaborate arcading filled with statues of kings.

From Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Lichfield A Description of Its Fabric and A Brief History of the Espicopal See by Clifton, A. B.

It consists of an altar-piece of ornamental arcading, surmounted by three tall canopied niches in which are placed sculptured figures representing the Crucifixion, St. Mary, and St. John.

From Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Lichfield A Description of Its Fabric and A Brief History of the Espicopal See by Clifton, A. B.

The view from just inside the south porch showing the four rows of arcading separating the outer aisles from the inner, and these from the central nave, is very fine.

From Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Manchester A Short History and Description of the Church and of the Collegiate Buildings now known as Chetham's Hospital by Perkins, Thomas, Rev.

A plain stone gallery with blind arcading, which formerly ran round the chevet on a level with the springing of the roof, was replaced by Viollet-le-Duc, with pierced battlemented arcading.

From Rheims and the Battles for its Possession Illustrated Michelin Guides to the Battle-Fields (1914-1918) by Various

The very arcading which we see I take to have stood north and south of the central hall of some large Roman mansion.

From Highways and Byways in Cambridge and Ely by Conybeare, Edward

Related Words

• gallery
• mall
• walkway