cadet
noun
a student in a national service academy or private military school or on a training ship.
cadet
1 American
[kuh-det]
/ kəˈdɛt /
noun
-
cadets
plural
-
a student in a national service academy or private military school or on a training ship.
-
a student in training for service as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, Air Force, or Coast Guard.
-
a trainee in a business or profession.
-
a younger son or brother.
-
the youngest son.
-
(formerly) a gentleman, usually a younger son, who entered the army to prepare for a subsequent commission.
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Also called cadet blue. a grayish to strong blue color.
-
Also called cadet gray. a bluish-gray to purplish-blue color.
-
Slang. a pimp.
Cadet
2
American
[kuh-det]
/ kəˈdɛt /
noun
Russian History.
cadet
British
/ kəˈdɛt /
noun
-
a young person undergoing preliminary training, usually before full entry to the uniformed services, police, etc, esp for officer status
-
a school pupil receiving elementary military training in a school corps
-
(in England and in France before 1789) a gentleman, usually a younger son, who entered the army to prepare for a commission
-
a younger son or brother
-
the family or family branch of a younger son
-
(in New Zealand) a person learning sheep farming on a sheep station
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of cadet1
1600–10; < French < Gascon capdet chief, captain (referring to the younger sons of noble families); compare Old Provençal capdel headman < Latin capitellum literally, small head; see capital 2
Origin of Cadet2
< Russian kadét, equivalent to ka + de (the letter names of k, d, representing konstitutsiónnyĭ demokrát Constitutional Democrat) + -t from kadét (now obsolete) cadet
Explanation
A cadet is a trainee enrolled in a military academy. You might also call a cadet a plebe, but doesn't cadet sound so much better? The term cadet has many meanings: the first meaning referred to a younger male in a family. That might help you remember that a cadet is someone young: specifically, a student in a military academy. In the United States, cadets are trainees at military colleges. The cadets get a college education while also training to be officers in the armed forces. Being a cadet is a blend of traditional education and military training.
Vocabulary lists containing cadet
English Words Derived from French, List 2
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My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich
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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:
Zeshan Hamdani lost his older brother Salman, a Muslim American New York police cadet, in the North Tower.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
He was sent to the cadet corps and fought in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
He also invited a cadet onstage to highlight physical fitness achievements, underscoring a recurring emphasis on bodily standards as a marker of military excellence.
From Salon ● May 24, 2026
In 1981, he made his Broadway debut in the play "Heartland" and his movie debut that same year as a military cadet in "Taps."
From Barron's ● Mar. 16, 2026
Maybe he was saying that because I was a cadet, there was no way I could be guilty.
From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds
Lyukshin was previously at the prestigious First Moscow Cadet Corps, and images of him in military uniform have been posted online by his family, including one described as being taken in the Kremlin.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
In fact, much of the story of L.A.s military academies might sound like a real estate “Where’s Cadet Waldo,” tracking the institutions from one place to another.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026
She had just started going out with a boy in her class, joined the hockey team, was training to be in the New Zealand Cadet Force, and had started competitive swimming.
From Slate ● May 12, 2026
Cadet has passed for 691 yards and 10 touchdowns.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2025
“Sure, sure,” Naval Cadet Stephanides said, and maybe he even intended to.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
For oilers and cadets, the $25,000 could represent more than a year of wages.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
It would have brought around 500 maritime cadets to the city.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
He even managed to get a more current jest in, teasing the group of young cadets with a “six-seven” joke about making good choices.
From Salon ● May 24, 2026
“This means that cadets are not taught what it means to be objectively reasonable, the very standard which the law requires them to meet when deciding whether or not to use deadly force.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026
"I hang around the edge of Batalla a lot. I like to watch the cadets practice."
From "Legend" by Marie Lu
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.
