arcade

American  

[ahr-keyd] / ɑrˈkeɪd /

noun

arcades plural

1. Architecture.

   1. a series of arches supported on piers or columns.

   2. an arched, roofed-in gallery.

2. an arched or covered passageway, usually with shops on each side.

3. an establishment, public area, etc., containing games of a mechanical and electronic type, as pinball and video games, that can be played by a customer for a fee.

4. an ornamental carving, as on a piece of furniture, in the form of a row of arches.

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verb (used with object)

arcaded, arcading

1. to provide with an arcade.

arcade British  

/ ɑːˈkeɪd /

noun

1. a set of arches and their supporting columns

2. a covered and sometimes arched passageway, usually with shops on one or both sides

3. a building, or part of a building, with an arched roof

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• arcades
  plural

Etymology

Origin of arcade

First recorded in 1725–35; from French, from Italian arcata “arch,” equivalent to arc(o) “arch” + -ata; see arc -ate ¹

Explanation

An arcade is a structure made by enclosing a series of arches and columns. The word's roots go back to the Latin word "arcus," which means arc or bow. An arched, covered passageway with shops or stalls on the sides is also called an arcade and was a precursor to the shopping mall. The Burlington Arcade in London opened in 1819 and was the first shopping arcade of its kind in Britain. It still exists and is the longest covered shopping street in England. As more of these shopping arcades opened, they also began offering games and eventually the word's meaning came to include video arcades, where you can play coin-operated games.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

arcade arcades arcaded arcading

In another lawsuit, he claimed an arcade rigged its claw machines against players, alleging it functioned as “a casino for children.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

The long-running chain, known mostly for its gargantuan arcade, bar fare, and ample screens for showing sports, has begun to let some of its locations book ad hoc late-night events with local promoters and artists.

From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026

Aesthetes had been howling about the Freedom 250 set, a soaring, 92-foot tall structure which resembled one of those arcade machine claws in which you try and fail to grab a stuffed hippopotamus.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026

Entry includes unlimited access to more than 150 arcade games spread throughout a sprawling, art-filled space packed with vintage machines and quirky attractions.

From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026

They were carrying tables out and setting them up under the arcade.

From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway

Reductions to tax relief for vape shops and gambling arcades will help to pay for the £100 million a year cost of the measure.

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

The rest is “walk-in retail,” which includes bowling, arcades, food and beverage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

And while a modern Chuck E. Cheese is school-cafeteria bright, Chuck’s Arcade is dark, its black walls and low lighting recalling the arcades of the ’80s and ’90s.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2025

Not churches, not schools — Chuck E. Cheese-style pizza arcades, where the air smells like old fryer oil and fresh anticipation, and an animatronic animal band plays on, unfazed by the passing decades.

From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2025

Below its surface, Archaide housed thousands of classic video arcades, each one a loving re-creation of an actual arcade that had once existed somewhere in the real world.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

There she attended the Secondary School of Design and Photography, housed in an arcaded Renaissance monastery.

From New York Times ● Jul. 18, 2016

The chapel was very small with a domed, red-tiled roof and round arcaded windows.

From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2014

History and Coffee During the Roman era, some 20,000 spectators would fill the stone seats of the arcaded amphitheater in what is now Piazza Sant’Oronzo.

From New York Times ● Aug. 8, 2013

There are two streets which are arcaded, where activities are limited, eg preventing the playing of radios or busking.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 17, 2012

Those who were most distant from the Prince, and who could do so with decency, began to scatter like frightened children, and were lost in the arcaded hedges and walks.

From The Little Schoolmaster Mark A Spiritual Romance by Shorthouse, J. H.

Of the original organ the loft only remains, the Gothic balustrading of which is pierced with Flamboyant arcading.

From Rheims and the Battles for its Possession Illustrated Michelin Guides to the Battle-Fields (1914-1918) by Various

This arcading is almost entirely new; what there was of it until recently was principally of plaster.

From Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Lichfield A Description of Its Fabric and A Brief History of the Espicopal See by Clifton, A. B.

The arcading in the remaining bay is similar, but angels' heads with wings take up the whole spandrel.

From Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Lichfield A Description of Its Fabric and A Brief History of the Espicopal See by Clifton, A. B.

The east end is partly covered with flat arcading, most elaborately carved with Arabic design, and partly with a black and red pattern of the same character.

From Cathedral Cities of Italy by Collins, William Wiehe

The very arcading which we see I take to have stood north and south of the central hall of some large Roman mansion.

From Highways and Byways in Cambridge and Ely by Conybeare, Edward

Related Words

• gallery
• mall
• walkway