cascade

American  

[kas-keyd] / kæsˈkeɪd /

noun

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)

cascaded, cascading

1. to fall in or like a cascade.

verb (used with object)

cascaded, cascading

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

• cascader noun
• uncascaded adjective
• uncascading adjective

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”; cadenza, case ¹ ) + -ata -ade ¹

Example Sentences

In 2024, a glacial lake in Nepal burst, cascading into another lake that also burst, washing away Thame, the hometown of Tenzing Norgay, who, alongside Edmund Hillary, achieved the first recorded summit of Mount Everest.

From The Wall Street Journal

Petite and Black, with hundreds of tiny braids cascading down her back, she walked with unexpectedly long strides, eating up the pavement while looking straight ahead, body framed by late-afternoon summer sunlight.

From Literature

They cascaded into the bag like crimson snow.

From Literature

The cascading effect resulted in diminished ratings returns for the whole subgenre.

From Salon

The Gutenberg Bible, with all its cascading social effects, would come later.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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