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cascade

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A small waterfall or series of small waterfalls.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

kaskayd

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

kæsˈkeɪd

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A small waterfall or series of small waterfalls

  2. figuratively

    A stream or sequence of a thing or things occurring as if falling like a cascade.

  3. A series of electrical (or other types of) components, the output of any one being connected to the input of the next.

  4. A number of places in the United States

  5. A hairpiece for women consisting of curled locks or a bun attached to a firm base, used to create the illusion of fuller hair.

  6. A neighbourhood of Seattle, Washington.

verb

  1. intransitive

    To fall as a waterfall or series of small waterfalls.

  2. transitive

    To arrange in a stepped series like a waterfall.

  3. transitive

    To pass (something) down through a chain or system in a flow or series of movements.

  4. intransitive

    To occur as a causal sequence.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

More ways to use cascade

  • “Progressing in severity as though a cascade of genetic damage was occurring.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

cascade rangecomplement cascadecoagulation cascadesignaling cascadecascade controlcascade modelkinase cascadecascade system

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • cascadesnounPlural form

    A mountain range in the northwestern United States extending through Washington and Oregon and northern California.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • cascade everlastingnounCompound term

    Shrub with white woolly branches and woolly leaves having fragrant flowers forming long sprays.

  • cascade liquefiernounCompound term

    An apparatus used to liquefy air or oxygen etc.

  • cascade mountainsnounCompound term

    A mountain range in the northwestern United States extending through Washington and Oregon and northern California.

  • cascade penstemonnounCompound term

    Whorls of deep blue to dark purple flowers at tips of erect leafy stems.

  • cascade rangenounCompound term

    A mountain range in the northwestern United States extending through Washington and Oregon and northern California.

  • cascade transformernounCompound term

    A number of transformers in series.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: to fall as a waterfall

cataractwaterfall

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.