cakewalk

noun

cake·​walk ˈkāk-ˌwȯk 

1

a

: a one-sided contest : an easy victory

In states and localities across America, good times are making for reelection cakewalks.

—Douglas Foster

b

: an easy task

… it's no cakewalk to raise a family on two part-time salaries, even for a little while.

—Belinda Luscombe

2

: an African American entertainment having a cake as prize for the most accomplished steps and figures in walking

3

: a stage dance developed from walking steps and figures typically involving a high prance with backward tilt

cakewalk intransitive verb

cakewalker noun

Synonyms

• breeze
• cake
• child's play
• cinch
• cream puff
• duck soup
• kid stuff
• picnic
• pushover
• roses
• snap

Examples of cakewalk in a Sentence

She expected the election to be a cakewalk.

Reducing the state budget is not going to be a cakewalk.

Recent Examples on the Web

But the East isn’t a cakewalk anymore — not with the Cavs storming everyone and the Knicks employing more top-end talent. —James L. Edwards Iii, The Athletic, 23 Jan. 2025

That next game for the Magic will be no cakewalk, either. —Jason Beede, Orlando Sentinel, 16 Jan. 2025

My goal is just to walk offstage after that monologue and feel like, OK, the rest of this show’s a cakewalk. —Ali Lerman, Los Angeles Times, 2 Jan. 2025

So, of course Sunday’s win-and-in matchup at home against the five-win Saints was no cakewalk. —Mike Jones, The Athletic, 5 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1863, in the meaning defined at sense 2