parade
Americannoun
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parades
plural
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a large public procession, usually including a marching band and often of a festive nature, held in honor of an anniversary, person, event, etc.
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a military ceremony involving the formation and marching of troop units, often combined with saluting the lowering of the flag at the end of the day.
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the assembly of troops for inspection or display.
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a place where troops regularly assemble for inspection or display.
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a continual passing by, as of people, objects, or events.
the parade of pedestrians past the office; the parade of the seasons.
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an ostentatious display.
to make a parade of one's religious beliefs.
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Chiefly British.
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a group or procession of promenaders.
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a promenade.
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Fortification. the level space forming the interior or enclosed area of a fortification.
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Fencing. a parry.
verb (used with object)
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parades,
present (3rd person singular)
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paraded,
past participle, past
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parading
present participle
verb (used without object)
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parades,
present (3rd person singular)
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paraded,
past participle, past
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parading
present participle
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to march in a procession.
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to promenade in a public place, especially in order to show off.
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to assemble in military order for display.
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to assume a false or misleading appearance.
international pressure that parades as foreign aid.
noun
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an ordered, esp ceremonial, march, assembly, or procession, as of troops being reviewed
on parade
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Also called: parade ground. a place where military formations regularly assemble
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a visible show or display
to make a parade of one's grief
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a public promenade or street of shops
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a successive display of things or people
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the interior area of a fortification
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a parry in fencing
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to hinder someone's enjoyment; upset someone's plans
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on display
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showing oneself off
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verb
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to walk or march, esp in a procession (through)
to parade the streets
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(tr) to exhibit or flaunt
he was parading his medals
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(tr) to cause to assemble in formation, as for a military parade
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(intr) to walk about in a public place
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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paradernoun
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paradefuladjective
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paradelessadjective
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paradelikeadjective
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unparadedadjective
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paradinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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paradesimple
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paradessimple
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have paradedperfect
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has paradedperfect
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am paradingprogressive
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are paradingprogressive
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is paradingprogressive
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have been paradingperfect progressive
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has been paradingperfect progressive
Past
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paradedsimple
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had paradedperfect
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was paradingprogressive
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were paradingprogressive
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had been paradingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of parade
1650–60; < French, Middle French < Spanish parada a stop, stopping place, noun use of feminine of parado, past participle of parar to stop, end < Latin parāre to set. See compare, parry, -ade 1
Explanation
A parade is a group of people marching in ceremony, celebration, or protest. Often a parade involves fire trucks, costumed adults throwing candy to children, baton twirlers, and members of the armed forces. Parade is also a verb, meaning to walk or march ostentatiously. When your sister first brings home her prom dress, she might parade around the living room after putting it on so everyone can see it. As a noun parade is an event in which a whole lot of people march in the streets — they could be wearing prom dresses, but more likely they're celebrating of a holiday or taking part in a military action.
Vocabulary lists containing parade
St. Patrick's Day Vocabulary: Words With Irish and Gaelic Roots
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Memorial Day Words
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Party Parlance for Mardi Gras
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Investors had been lining up for a parade of IPOs this fall, expected to be headlined by a gigantic and record-setting offering from Anthropic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
A growing parade of companies—from Anthropic to Dunkin’ owner Inspire Brands—have revisited their listing plans as spiking bond yields, volatile oil prices and an intensifying debate around AI safety dent investor enthusiasm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
In the 1990s, the Drumcree parade sparked some of the most serious disorder in Northern Ireland's history.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
If the four aces can do to October opponents what the 1966 Orioles did to the Dodgers, or some reasonable 21st century facsimile, we’ll see you at the parade.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026
“We’re saving our uniforms for the parade of champions.”
From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein
The ban is also imposed on very small weekly parades from the church in protest, which stop at a police line at a distance from Garvaghy Road.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
A decision by the Parades Commission to impose restrictions on one of the most contentious parades in Northern Ireland has been quashed in the High Court.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
Alicante has music for lunch, music for dancing, music for parades.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026
They are the people supporting Disneyland’s parades, shows and character operations, including some who perform as iconic characters such as Mickey Mouse, Snow White and Cinderella.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
The fair prompted President Harrison to designate October 12 a national holiday, Columbus Day, which today serves to anchor a few thousand parades and a three-day weekend.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Mallard ducks and Canada geese have long made the reflecting pool home and paraded their young’uns through it in the spring and summer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
On the balcony of his house in Indonesia, Muhammad Yusuf swayed to blaring music and waved a replica of the World Cup trophy as hundreds paraded past, many decked out in Argentina's colours.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
Very little criticism came Slot or Liverpool's way when they were paraded as a coup in the summer.
From BBC ● May 30, 2026
“I don’t want to be paraded around and be a sideshow,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
The little children paraded in and out of the bathroom, putting their clothes on in the bedroom.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
But that’s a lot of big ifs stuffed into a trenchcoat, parading around social media as an inevitability.
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026
The dancers, costumed in their Saturday evening black-and-white vintage best, added to the parading splendor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026
It must have made an impression on a teenage boy parading and drilling in a uniform on the outskirts of West Point.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
Viral videos of Knicks fans parading in front of Madison Square Garden started trending during each playoff game.
From MarketWatch ● May 26, 2026
My head swam with the parading faces of white people.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
