cadre

noun

cad·re ˈka-ˌdrā

ˈkä-

-drē;

especially British ˈkä-də,

ˈkā-,

-drə

Synonyms of cadre next

: a nucleus or core group especially of trained personnel able to assume control and to train others

broadly : a group of people having some unifying relationship

a cadre of lawyers

a cadre of technicians

: a cell of indoctrinated leaders active in promoting the interests of a revolutionary party

: a member of a cadre

: frame, framework

… the current specialisms and cadres of our university curricula …—

H. M. McLuhan

Did you know?

A wise man named Huey Lewis once sang that “it’s hip to be square.” As lexicographers—a hip cadre if ever there was one—we heartily agree with this sentiment, not least because the song (as performed by Lewis and his trusted cadre of bandmates dubbed “the News”) prompts us to ponder an etymological descendent (via French and Italian) of the Latin word for square, quadrum: cadre. Squares being a logical and standard shape for frames (as of window and picture varieties), it’s easy to understand why French speakers and later English speakers adopted cadre as a word meaning “frame.” A sense of cadre referring to a metaphorical framework for something (such as a novel or curriculum) soon developed. And if you consider a group of officers in a military regiment as the framework that holds things together for the unit, you’ll understand how yet another sense of cadre, referring to a nucleus of trained personnel, arose. Military leaders and their troops are well-trained and work together as a unified team, which may explain why cadre is now sometimes used more generally to refer to any group of people who have some kind of unifying characteristic—such as a belief in the heart of rock and roll, or perhaps the power of love.

Examples of cadre in a Sentence

claims that the problem will never be solved within the existing cadre of the state bureaucracy

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

From heat tools to styling creams, getting your hair just right can sometimes take a cadre of products. —

Mia Huelsbeck, People.com, 5 Dec. 2024 Its historic shareholders include a cadre of experienced executives such as Christian Blanckaert, former director of international affairs at Hermès; Pierre Denis, previously CEO of Jimmy Choo, and Stanislas de Quercize, former CEO of Cartier. —

Joelle Diderich, WWD, 2 Dec. 2024 These troops will be equipped with Russian military hardware, and initial deployments will include a cadre of 2,600 soldiers to be sent to Russia’s Kursk oblast, or region, to help repel a Ukrainian offensive. —

Katya Soldak, Forbes, 21 Oct. 2024 The report wonders, for instance, why Deborah Birx, a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, avoided meeting with a cadre of anti-lockdown advocates that included Bhattacharya in the summer of 2020. —

Benjamin Mazer, The Atlantic, 25 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for cadre