cadence
Americannoun
-
cadences
plural
-
rhythmic flow of a sequence of sounds or words.
the cadence of language.
-
(in free verse) a rhythmic pattern that is nonmetrically structured.
-
the beat, rate, or measure of any rhythmic movement.
The chorus line danced in rapid cadence.
-
the flow or rhythm of events, especially the pattern in which something is experienced.
the frenetic cadence of modern life.
-
a slight falling in pitch of the voice in speaking or reading, as at the end of a declarative sentence.
-
the general modulation of the voice.
-
Music. a sequence of notes or chords that indicates the momentary or complete end of a composition, section, phrase, etc.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
the beat or measure of something rhythmic
-
a fall in the pitch of the voice, as at the end of a sentence
-
modulation of the voice; intonation
-
a rhythm or rhythmic construction in verse or prose; measure
-
the close of a musical phrase or section
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of cadence
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French, from Italian cadenza cadenza
Explanation
The word cadence has its own lovely cadence — rhythm of sound as it's spoken. Cadence has come to mean "the rhythm of sounds" from its root cadere which means "to fall." Originally designating falling tones especially at the end of lines of music or poetry, cadence broadened to mean the rhythms of the tones and sometimes even the rhythm of sounds in general. Think of the cadence of the marching band at a football game or the cadence of the crickets on a warm spring night. You can remember the "fall" idea by thinking of one of the only words that contains it — decadence — which has the prefix de- at the front to mean down, or downfall.
Vocabulary lists containing cadence
Frankenstein
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Scarlet Letter
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Grade 11, List 5
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“We are not convinced that higher compute alone provides a durable solution to improving the cadence and predictability of meaningful releases,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
The good set of results and a small raise in guidance are welcome after concerns were raised about the health of the luxury consumer and about the cadence of Ferrari’s own margin development, it adds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
“The company-wide cadence was too rigid and didn’t reflect the different ways teams work and didn’t bring people together for the moments that could have the most impact,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
Vance’s efforts to seem hip come across as forced, as if he has never met a fellow millennial and can only approximate their lingo and cadence from reading old magazine reviews of movies like “Clueless.”
From Salon ● Jul. 29, 2026
She is using the same excited cadence they use when trying to decipher what Bit wants when he sits and stares at them.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
In walk-and-talk videos, he used Trump’s singsong cadences to freestyle on pop culture topics from Scooby-Doo to Weird Al Yankovic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2025
It’s an idea that’s sitting there — they’re so polar opposites and they’re both such good actors that they’ve created characters with such specific quirks and body movement and cadences and things like that.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2025
He experiments with new tones and cadences; the beats bounce, the production is subdued, but innovative.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2024
He has had to learn the playbook, pre-snap cadences, even how to put his pads on.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2024
Complicating matters is the fact that there are several competing systems for naming cadences.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
Their days are cadenced only by breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as a few medical appointments and sporadic detention hearings.
From Seattle Times ● May 30, 2024
No matter how many times I brought it up, Epiphania always gave the same sad answer in her cadenced, Italian accent: "No, you can't buy it! The house is not on the market!"
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2022
The specialists are cadenced and full of adrenaline, so they can get “caught leaning” when the system is out of rhythm.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 16, 2021
The cadenced distribution of cotton bolls across the picture just over their heads evokes musical notes written on a staff.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2021
The Jefferson style was fluid, lyrical, cadenced, and melodious.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
The cadencing of a musical phrase in Hawaiian song was marked by a peculiarity all its own.
From Unwritten Literature of Hawaii The Sacred Songs of the Hula by Nathaniel Bright Emerson
Steadily, lithely, and with never an error the rowers drove through the waves—steadily, and in exact time, their cry arose cadencing each stroke.
From The Prince of India — Volume 01 by Lewis Wallace
The psychology of rhythm shows its basal value in cadencing the soul.
From Youth: Its Education, Regimen, and Hygiene by G. Stanley Hall
The fifth, when in the lowest voice, should be used as in two-part counterpoint, except when used in V43 or the cadencing tonic six-four chord.
From A Treatise on Simple Counterpoint in Forty Lessons by Friedrich Johann Lehmann
My wife, who has not the slightest suspicion that I am a Jew, is not a little astonished by this peculiar musical wail, this trilling and cadencing.
From Jewish Literature and Other Essays by Gustav Karpeles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
