cadet

[ kuh-det ]
See synonyms for cadet on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a student in a national service academy or private military school or on a training ship.

  2. a student in training for service as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, Air Force, or Coast Guard.: Compare midshipman (def. 1).

  1. a trainee in a business or profession.

  2. a younger son or brother.

  3. the youngest son.

  4. (formerly) a gentleman, usually a younger son, who entered the army to prepare for a subsequent commission.

  5. Also called cadet blue . a grayish to strong blue color.

  6. Also called cadet gray . a bluish-gray to purplish-blue color.

  7. Slang. a pimp.

Origin of cadet

1
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 capital2

Other words from cadet

  • ca·det·ship, noun

Other definitions for Cadet (2 of 2)

Cadet
[ kuh-det ]

nounRussian History.
  1. a member of the former Constitutional Democratic Party.

Origin of Cadet

2
<Russian kadét, equivalent to ka + de (the letter names of k, d, representing konstitutsiónnyĭ demokrát Constitutional Democrat) + -t from kadét (now obsolete) cadet

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use cadet in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cadet

cadet

/ (kəˈdɛt) /


noun
  1. a young person undergoing preliminary training, usually before full entry to the uniformed services, police, etc, esp for officer status

  2. a school pupil receiving elementary military training in a school corps

  1. (in England and in France before 1789) a gentleman, usually a younger son, who entered the army to prepare for a commission

  2. a younger son or brother

  3. cadet branch the family or family branch of a younger son

  4. (in New Zealand) a person learning sheep farming on a sheep station

Origin of cadet

1
C17: from French, from dialect (Gascon) capdet captain, ultimately from Latin caput head

Derived forms of cadet

  • cadetship, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012