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cascade

/kæˈskeɪd/
/kæsˈkeɪd/
IPA guide

Other forms: cascading; cascaded

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.

Definitions of cascade
  1. noun
    a small waterfall or series of small waterfalls
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    type of:
    falls, waterfall
    a steep descent of the water of a river
  2. noun
    a sudden downpour (as of tears, sparks, etc.) likened to a rain shower
    “a sudden cascade of sparks”
    synonyms: shower
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    type of:
    descent
    a movement downward
  3. noun
    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”
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    type of:
    succession
    a group of people or things arranged or following in order
  4. verb
    rush down in big quantities, like a cascade
    synonyms: cascade down
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    type of:
    come down, descend, fall, go down
    move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
  5. verb
    arrange (open windows) on a computer desktop so that they overlap each other, with the title bars visible
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    type of:
    arrange, set up
    put into a proper or systematic order
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘cascade'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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