cadre

[ ka-drey, kah-drey ]

noun

1. Military. the key group of officers and enlisted personnel necessary to establish and train a new military unit.
2. a group of trained or otherwise qualified personnel capable of forming, training, or leading an expanded organization, as a religious or political faction, or a skilled workforce:

   They hoped to form a cadre of veteran party members.

3. (especially in Communist countries) a cell of trained and devoted workers.
4. a member of a cadre; a person qualified to serve in a cadre.
5. a framework, outline, or scheme.

cadre

/ ˈkɑːdə /

noun

1. the nucleus of trained professional servicemen forming the basis for the training of new units or other military expansion
2. a basic unit or structure, esp of specialists or experts; nucleus; core
3. a group of revolutionaries or other political activists, esp when taking part in military or terrorist activities
4. a member of a cadre

cadre

1. An elite or select group that forms the core of an organization and is capable of training new members.

Word History and Origins

Origin of cadre¹

First recorded in 1905–10; from French: “frame, border, bounds, cadre” (metaphorically, the cadre being the framework into which temporary personnel are fit), from Italian quadro, from Latin quadrum “square”; quadri-

Word History and Origins

Origin of cadre¹

C19: from French, from Italian quadro, from Latin quadrum square

Example Sentences

He claimed a cadre of senior officers, a so-called “SWAT mafia,” exercised “god-like power” over who was allowed into the elite unit and how it operated, creating a “culture of violence” that glorified deadly force.

From Los Angeles Times

The regime soon to enter office will be populated by a new cadre of national security mandarins, all largely devoid of visionary ideas, certainly nothing we could call progressive, much less transformative.

From Salon

The district also has assigned a special cadre of substitutes to Jefferson so they could become familiar with the students there.

From Los Angeles Times

Mizelle is one of a cadre of Republican-appointed regional trial judges who have taken it upon themselves to upend settled government laws and programs by declaring them illegal or unconstitutional.

From Los Angeles Times

Hezbollah got its start in 1982 during Lebanon’s civil war as a cadre of Shiites dedicated to ending Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• organization
• personnel
• staff