parade

American  

[puh-rayd] / 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

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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

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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

Nearby a mass-produced printed cotton textile shows mangoes against a sea of fireworks during the National Day parade of the same year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

Los Javis prefer a bolder, blunter style, which turns the movie into a long parade of too-muchness that, in substance, ends up seeming not enough.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

Milwaukee sent a parade of four relievers to the mound for a second straight game Monday, and for a second straight game they didn’t give up a run, retiring the last 15 Dodgers in order.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

LA CROSSE, Wisconsin — September is both campaign season and parade season in Wisconsin, as communities across the state celebrate Oktoberfest and the harvest of fall crops like apples and pumpkins.

From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2026

As the parade music began, I hardly talked and no one seemed to notice.

From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry

She said she had taken her mother to Disneyland a while back, and her mother enjoyed watching the parades in person, but also enjoys videos of Disney parades.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

The exemption is designed to apply to cars used primarily in shows, parades, charitable functions and historical exhibitions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

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

Their morale was low because they did not want to march in parades every Sunday afternoon and because Lieutenant Scheisskopf had appointed cadet officers from their ranks instead of permitting them to elect their own.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

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

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

When the U.S. flag was paraded onto the pitch during the World Cup opening ceremony in Mexico City last week, jeers rained down from the crowd.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 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

It was as if rainbows had come to earth, draped themselves on these folk, and paraded along the road.

From "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" by Avi

First Minister Michelle O'Neill has said she has received a letter from police investigating protests over the Drumcree parading dispute.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

Chief Constable Jon Boutcher has said the policing operation over the Drumcree parading dispute has cost about £3m so far.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

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

Servants bring in her garden dress, parading it in front of the onlookers, who fawn over it.

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton

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Related Words

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

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