cascade

American  

[kas-kayd] / kæsˈkeɪd /

noun

• cascades
  plural

1. a waterfall descending over a steep, rocky surface.

2. a series of shallow or steplike waterfalls, either natural or artificial.

3. anything that resembles a waterfall, especially in seeming to flow or fall in abundance.

   a cascade of roses covering the wall.

4. (in a drain or sewer) a chain of steps for dissipating the momentum of falling water in a steep place in order to maintain a steady rate of flow.

5. an arrangement of a lightweight fabric in folds falling one over another in random or zigzag fashion.

6. a type of firework resembling a waterfall in effect.

7. Chemistry. a series of vessels, from each of which a fluid successively overflows to the next, thus presenting a large absorbing surface, as to a gas.

8. Electricity. an arrangement of component devices, as electrolytic cells, each of which feeds into the next in succession.

9. Biochemistry. a series of reactions catalyzed by enzymes that are activated sequentially by successive products of the reactions, resulting in an amplification of the initial response.

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verb (used without object)

• cascades,
  present (3rd person singular)
• cascaded,
  past participle,  past
• cascading
  present participle

1. to fall in or like a cascade.

verb (used with object)

• cascades,
  present (3rd person singular)
• cascaded,
  past participle,  past
• cascading
  present participle

1. to cause to fall in a cascade.

2. Electricity. to arrange (components) in a cascade.

cascade British  

/ kæsˈkeɪd /

noun

1. a waterfall or series of waterfalls over rocks

2. something resembling this, such as folds of lace

3. 1. a consecutive sequence of chemical or physical processes

   2. ( as modifier )

      cascade liquefaction

4. 1. a series of stages in the processing chain of an electrical signal where each operates the next in turn

   2. ( as modifier )

      a cascade amplifier

5. the cumulative process responsible for the formation of an electrical discharge, cosmic-ray shower, or Geiger counter avalanche in a gas

6. the sequence of spontaneous decays by an excited atom or ion

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verb

1. (intr) to flow or fall in or like a cascade

cascade Scientific  

/ kăs-kād′ /

1. A series of chemical or physiological processes that occur in successive stages, each of which is dependent on the preceding one, to produce a culminating effect. The steps involved in the clotting of blood occur as a cascade.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cascader
  noun
• uncascaded
  adjective
• uncascading
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• cascades
  plural

Participles

• cascading
  present
• cascaded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• cascade
  simple
• cascades
  simple
• have cascaded
  perfect
• has cascaded
  perfect
• am cascading
  progressive
• are cascading
  progressive
• is cascading
  progressive
• have been cascading
  perfect progressive
• has been cascading
  perfect progressive

Past

• cascaded
  simple
• had cascaded
  perfect
• was cascading
  progressive
• were cascading
  progressive
• had been cascading
  perfect progressive

Future

• will cascade
  simple
• will have cascaded
  perfect
• will be cascading
  progressive
• will have been cascading
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of cascade

First recorded in 1635–45; from French, from Italian cascata, from casc(are) “to fall” (from Vulgar Latin cāsicāre (unrecorded), from cās(us) “fallen,” past participle of cadere “to fall”; cf. cadenza, case ¹) + -ata -ade ¹

Explanation

Think of a cascade as something suddenly falling, tumbling down in a rush. The word cascade conjures up a vision of anything falling in a manner resembling a waterfall — think of a cascade of shining hair, a sudden cascade of tears, or the cascade of light during a meteor shower. The idea behind the word is of something falling in a progressive manner or a series of steps. A downward progression of musical themes can be called a cascade, as can the disastrous cascade of the tumbling price of a stock on Wall Street.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cascade cascades cascaded cascading

Critics of full-body scans, meanwhile, view them as unnecessary, citing low clinical yield and a cascade of follow-up scans.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

Shawna Dawson Beer, a longtime Altadena advocate, was glad this latest review acknowledged that it was “not just a chaotic night, ... but a cascade of failures.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026

Automated clinical decision support systems could be designed to recognize a possible prescribing cascade as it develops.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026

In 2021, a large chunk of a Himalayan glacier collapsed in the valley of Chamoli in northern India, sending a cascade of debris and water downstream that killed 200 people.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

Its skin is coarse and blue, with ridges that cascade down its back like waves.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

On the kitchen walls, the “Lauenstein Yellow” tile cascades down into polychrome patterns.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

Advanced models can be copied in seconds and transmitted digitally, but centrifuge cascades can’t fit in a laptop.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026

"The longer it goes on, that kind of cascades into much bigger problems, particularly if there's not enough oil in general to run stuff."

From Barron's ● May 6, 2026

"Upvotes reward what a community likes, not what is true, so you can get information cascades, groupthink, and strong echo chambers in certain subreddits."

From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2026

I only know that everything cascades, and that once it starts it won’t stop.

From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon

The downpour cascaded into subway stations and flooded city streets in parts of New York and the Tri-State area, which also includes Connecticut, while some drivers abandoned their vehicles in rising water.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

That cascaded through other stocks tied to artificial intelligence, with Micron Technology and AMD sliding 7.7% and 3.6%, respectively.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026

The loss ended in suitably ugly fashion for Tottenham as their frustrated players became embroiled in a clash with Villa after the final whistle as boos cascaded from the stands.

From Barron's ● Jan. 10, 2026

This approach relies on cascaded second-harmonic generation within nonlinear crystals, producing UV-C pulses that last only femtoseconds, less than 1 trillionth of a second.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 7, 2026

The boys yanked their strings and water cascaded down, not only on the Yugoslavians but also on some German police cadets who were trying to quiet them down.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

At the same time, warming is destabilising permafrost - permanently frozen ground that can thaw as temperatures rise - and high mountain slopes, increasing the possibility of cascading hazards, the report says.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

The exemptions are, in some respects, similar to the treatment of manufacturers’ purchases on inputs to factories, which is designed to prevent cascading layers of the same tax on the same product.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

Highlights include an extraordinary park, cascading waterfall, structural feats and unique vantages.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

That has cascading ramifications for their suppliers and customers across economies such as Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

We held hands because it seemed the right thing to do, circled around as the ground became mud and the rain fell harder, cascading down our faces, into our mouths.

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago

Related Words

• descend
• gush
• overflow
• pour
• spew
• spill
• tumble