cadre

noun

cad·​re ˈka-ˌdrā  ˈkä- 

-drē;

 especially British  ˈkä-də,

ˈkā-,

-drə

1

: 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

2

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

3

: a member of a cadre

4

: 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.

Synonyms

• architecture
• armature
• configuration
• edifice
• fabric
• frame
• framework
• framing
• infrastructure
• shell
• skeleton
• structure

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

Drake is led by first-year head coach Ben McCollum, a Division II legend, and a cadre of transfers from McCollum’s former school Northwest Missouri State. —Chris Branch, The Athletic, 20 Feb. 2025

Loading your audio article SAN FRANCISCO — Chase Center’s first NBA All-Star Game attracted more than just the 25 official All-Stars and another cadre of rising stars. —Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 16 Feb. 2025

The lawsuit is part of a flurry of complaints filed in recent days opposing various executive orders signed by Trump as well as activities conducted by DOGE, which has dispatched a cadre of Musk loyalists to radically overhaul and sometimes effectively dismantle various government agencies. —Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 11 Feb. 2025

And to observe him with family—or even the small cadre of assistants on hand to make the day go smoothly—is to see a man who doesn’t think twice before opening a door for others, literally or figuratively. —Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 6 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French, from Italian quadro, from Latin quadrum square — more at quarrel

First Known Use

1763, in the meaning defined at sense 4

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!