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.

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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

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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

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

It launched a sub-brand called D&B Unlocked, a ticketed event discovery platform in which guests can sift through upcoming nightlife offerings at their local arcade.

From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026

Aesthetes had been howling about the Freedom 250 set, a soaring, 92-foot tall structure which resembled one of those arcade machine claws in which you try and fail to grab a stuffed hippopotamus.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026

Entry includes unlimited access to more than 150 arcade games spread throughout a sprawling, art-filled space packed with vintage machines and quirky attractions.

From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026

A bunch of stuffed animals hung from his belt—the huge kind you get for grand prizes at an arcade.

From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan

The rest is “walk-in retail,” which includes bowling, arcades, food and beverage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

Some 80 percent of the 22,000 arcades Japan had in 1989 have shut down, but revenues have held up thanks to claw machines, according to the Japan Amusement Industry Association.

From Barron's ● Dec. 26, 2025

The series has spawned dozens of spin-offs in arcades and many more across home consoles.

From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2025

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

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

There she attended the Secondary School of Design and Photography, housed in an arcaded Renaissance monastery.

From New York Times ● Jul. 18, 2016

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

But as he passed into the arcaded patio of the inn, the silent maid-servant passed him with a flash of white cotton gown.

From The Firebrand by Crockett, S. R. (Samuel Rutherford)

On one side of the lunette is a panel representing the Virgin kneeling beneath the open arcading of a temple, and on the opposite side a similar panel containing the Archangel Gabriel.

From Great Masters in Painting: Perugino by Williamson, George C.

Both walls have an arcading of cinque-foil pattern; and the double piscina and the graduated sedilia are of no less merit.

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

Some of the arcading, notably that in the three easterly bays of the south aisle, is unrestored.

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.

These sills are panelled with a foliated arcading, and in front of the passage there is an open trefoil work parapet.

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.

Above both lower lights in this window is a renaissance arcading.

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

Related Words

• gallery
• mall
• walkway