parade

American  

[puh-reyd] / pəˈreɪd /

noun

• parades
  plural

1. a large public procession, usually including a marching band and often of a festive nature, held in honor of an anniversary, person, event, etc.

2. 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.

3. the assembly of troops for inspection or display.

4. a place where troops regularly assemble for inspection or display.

5. a continual passing by, as of people, objects, or events.

   the parade of pedestrians past the office; the parade of the seasons.

6. an ostentatious display.

   to make a parade of one's religious beliefs.

7. Chiefly British.

   1. a group or procession of promenaders.

   2. a promenade.

8. Fortification. the level space forming the interior or enclosed area of a fortification.

9. Fencing. a parry.

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verb (used with object)

• parades,
  present (3rd person singular)
• paraded,
  past participle,  past
• parading
  present participle

1. to walk up and down on or in.

2. to make parade of; display ostentatiously.

   Synonyms:

   flourish, flaunt, show

   Antonyms:

   conceal

3. to cause to march or proceed for display.

verb (used without object)

• parades,
  present (3rd person singular)
• paraded,
  past participle,  past
• parading
  present participle

1. to march in a procession.

2. to promenade in a public place, especially in order to show off.

3. to assemble in military order for display.

4. to assume a false or misleading appearance.

   international pressure that parades as foreign aid.

parade British  

/ pəˈreɪd /

noun

1. an ordered, esp ceremonial, march, assembly, or procession, as of troops being reviewed

   on parade

2. Also called: parade ground.  a place where military formations regularly assemble

3. a visible show or display

   to make a parade of one's grief

4. a public promenade or street of shops

5. a successive display of things or people

6. the interior area of a fortification

7. a parry in fencing

8. to hinder someone's enjoyment; upset someone's plans

9. 1. on display

   2. showing oneself off

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verb

1. to walk or march, esp in a procession (through)

   to parade the streets

2. (tr) to exhibit or flaunt

   he was parading his medals

3. (tr) to cause to assemble in formation, as for a military parade

4. (intr) to walk about in a public place

parade Idioms  

1. see hit parade; rain on one's parade.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• parader
  noun
• paradeful
  adjective
• paradeless
  adjective
• paradelike
  adjective
• unparaded
  adjective
• paradingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• parades
  plural

Participles

• parading
  present
• paraded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• parade
  simple
• parades
  simple
• have paraded
  perfect
• has paraded
  perfect
• am parading
  progressive
• are parading
  progressive
• is parading
  progressive
• have been parading
  perfect progressive
• has been parading
  perfect progressive

Past

• paraded
  simple
• had paraded
  perfect
• was parading
  progressive
• were parading
  progressive
• had been parading
  perfect progressive

Future

• will parade
  simple
• will have paraded
  perfect
• will be parading
  progressive
• will have been parading
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

parade parades paraded parading

Now, a parade of mining companies hoping to ride the boom are trying to grab attention by wrapping themselves in red, white and blue.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

After later being contacted by officers, Laura gave a statement 15 days after the attack, and attended an ID parade the next year.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

Imagine what they could do with clips of Skubal waving to fans in a championship parade.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026

On a recent afternoon, Matt Simpson watched as a parade of brawny off-road SUVs, pickup trucks and high-powered sports cars stormed down a Nascar racetrack in mid-Michigan.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

Even through a coat of grime the slapdash quality of the paintings was evident, with their stiff, awkwardly posed figures and dizzying parade of symbols.

From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood

It was weeks before identity parades were arranged, and BTP did not approach the CPS for six months.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

Disneyland, one of the most popular destinations for families, has long provided the employees behind its parades and costumed characters with paid leave in the weeks after they become new parents.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

The 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence should be more than fireworks, parades and patriotic songs.

From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026

In Poultney, Bhakta has become known for hosting barbecues and driving his vintage cars in Fourth of July parades while pushing an ambitious plan for redevelopment that never panned out.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

When I got home, I asked Allie if he knew of a powerful man who parades the city in such a way.

From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah

Dozens of people also paraded through the village on "salengs" -- scooters with sidecars used locally to transport coconuts -- brandishing placards featuring images of healthy, smiling livers.

From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026

During the Cold War, advanced weaponry was paraded through Red Square.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

Minutes earlier, the players paraded around Azteca Stadium — traditionally an impenetrable fortress — to applaud El Tri fans with tears in their eyes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026

One of the largest cheers came when Odegaard, the first Arsenal captain to lead the club to Premier League glory since Patrick Vieira in 2004, paraded the trophy at the front of the bus.

From BBC ● May 31, 2026

When Varys had paraded them before him, Tyrion had been afraid he'd gone too far, but Shae had never uttered a word of complaint.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

The dancers, costumed in their Saturday evening black-and-white vintage best, added to the parading splendor.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026

Viral videos of Knicks fans parading in front of Madison Square Garden started trending during each playoff game.

From MarketWatch ● May 26, 2026

Won’t it be teeth-grindingly annoying, at best, if more people start parading their green virtues?

From Slate ● May 15, 2026

Ozzy Osbourne has been honoured at this year's Mardi Gras in New Orleans, with more than 200 people parading through the streets dressed as the Prince of Darkness.

From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2026

On the Common he could see that Earl Percy was parading his entire brigade—all three regiments.

From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes

Related Words

• brandish
• demonstrate
• flash
• prance
• strut
• swagger
• trot out