cascade - Dictionary Definition : Vocabulary.com

Think of a cascade as something suddenly falling, tumbling down in a rush.

The word cascade conjures up a vision of anything falling in a manner resembling a waterfall — think of a cascade of shining hair, a sudden cascade of tears, or the cascade of light during a meteor shower. The idea behind the word is of something falling in a progressive manner or a series of steps. A downward progression of musical themes can be called a cascade, as can the disastrous cascade of the tumbling price of a stock on Wall Street.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: cascade

1	n v	a small waterfall or series of small waterfalls rush down in big quantities, like a cascade
2	v	arrange (open windows) on a computer desktop so that they overlap each other, with the title bars visible

FULL DEFINITIONS OF: cascade

1

n a small waterfall or series of small waterfalls

Type of:: falls, waterfall
a steep descent of the water of a river

n a sudden downpour (as of tears or sparks etc) likened to a rain shower

“a sudden cascade of sparks”

Synonyms:: shower

Type of:: descent
a movement downward

n a succession of stages or operations or processes or units

“progressing in severity as though a cascade of genetic damage was occurring”

“separation of isotopes by a cascade of processes”

Type of:: succession
a group of people or things arranged or following in order

v rush down in big quantities, like a cascade

Synonyms:: cascade down

Type of:: come down, descend, fall, go down
move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way

2

v arrange (open windows) on a computer desktop so that they overlap each other, with the title bars visible

Type of:: arrange, set up
put into a proper or systematic order