cadence

American  

[keyd-ns] / ˈkeɪd ns /

noun

cadences plural

1. rhythmic flow of a sequence of sounds or words.

   the cadence of language.

2. (in free verse) a rhythmic pattern that is nonmetrically structured.

3. the beat, rate, or measure of any rhythmic movement.

   The chorus line danced in rapid cadence.

   Synonyms:

   meter, rhythm, pulse, tempo

4. the flow or rhythm of events, especially the pattern in which something is experienced.

   the frenetic cadence of modern life.

5. a slight falling in pitch of the voice in speaking or reading, as at the end of a declarative sentence.

6. the general modulation of the voice.

7. Music. a sequence of notes or chords that indicates the momentary or complete end of a composition, section, phrase, etc.

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verb (used with object)

cadenced, cadencing

1. to make rhythmical.

cadence British  

/ ˈkeɪdəns /

noun

1. the beat or measure of something rhythmic

2. a fall in the pitch of the voice, as at the end of a sentence

3. modulation of the voice; intonation

4. a rhythm or rhythmic construction in verse or prose; measure

5. the close of a musical phrase or section

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cadences
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cadence cadences cadenced cadencing

"Accelerating our Moon mission ordering cadence and launch opportunities enable us to move quickly to learn, iterate, and improve."

From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026

Boeing has big plans for the North Line, envisioning a production cadence comparable to that in Renton, 35 miles to the south, which until this week was the exclusive home of MAX assembly.

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

In front of a crowd, Forstag can be halting; he hasn’t yet located his natural cadence, which causes him to sometimes appear a bit hesitant.

From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026

Spoken in a colloquial mix of English and Armenian, the recording became the introduction to “Canopies,” a song with the hushed, rocking cadence of a lullaby that Korkejian wrote from her grandmother’s perspective.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

She was still talking in the phony cadence, but her gaze was steely.

From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

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

In the stentorian 18th-century cadences of historian Edward Gibbon and essayist Samuel Johnson, he painted a heroic portrait of that nation of shopkeepers and saw Britain’s current troubles in light of its glorious past.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 8, 2024

Not in the Capitol accent, but in the rougher cadences of home.

From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

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

With each cadenced step she took, her tail swung to the rhythm of her paws hitting the snow.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 28, 2017

As Obama spoke, compassionate and cadenced, American flags fluttering behind him, Blaine shifted, sighed, leaned back on the couch.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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 Karpeles, Gustav

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 Wallace, Lewis

Listening fearfully, he heard through these a murmurous baritone cadencing: Talbot Potter declaiming the inwardness of "Roderick Hanscom"; and then—oh, bells of Elfland faintly chiming!—the voice of Wanda Malone!

From Harlequin and Columbine by Tarkington, Booth

The six-four chord may be used at the close as the cadencing tonic six-four chord.

From A Treatise on Simple Counterpoint in Forty Lessons by Lehmann, Friedrich Johann

The psychology of rhythm shows its basal value in cadencing the soul.

From Youth: Its Education, Regimen, and Hygiene by Hall, G. Stanley

Related Words

• accent
• inflection
• intonation
• lilt
• tempo