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

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

The new model was flashy, black-light entertainment with thumping music, huge video screens, arcade games and claw machines, along with upscale food and drink at double or triple the prices of standard bowling-alley fare.

From Salon ● Jul. 3, 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

Tearful supporters at a California Working Families Party shindig at the Mission Control bar and arcade in downtown Santa Ana hugged Lopez, gifted her flowers and wished her well.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

We went out to walk around under the arcade to the Café Iruña for coffee.

From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway

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

Meanwhile, the shopping mall evolved from a place to buy things into a destination for all kinds of family entertainment, often boasting large food courts, multiplex theaters, indoor playgrounds, video arcades and more.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 15, 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

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

History and Coffee During the Roman era, some 20,000 spectators would fill the stone seats of the arcaded amphitheater in what is now Piazza Sant’Oronzo.

From New York Times ● Aug. 8, 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

The long arcaded front of the Palace of Cooch Behar gleamed in the glow of torches held by hundreds of white-clad natives.

From Life in an Indian Outpost by Casserly, Gordon

There are three apses; the middle one has two rows of blind arcading with ornamental brickwork above.

From Cathedral Cities of Italy by Collins, William Wiehe

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

Without further speech they turned into it, and rode on beneath the shadow of trees, whose branches, arcading over, hindered sight of the sun.

From No Quarter! by Reid, Mayne

The very simple rose-window, between two lines of superimposed arcading, is protected, in the Champagne style, by a relieving-arch.

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

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.

Related Words

• gallery
• mall
• walkway