cavalry

noun

cav·​al·​ry ˈka-vəl-rē 

nonstandard

ˈkal-və-rē 

plural cavalries

1

a

: an army component mounted on horseback

b

: an army component moving in motor vehicles or helicopters and assigned to combat missions that require great mobility

2

: horsemen

a thousand cavalry in flight

Examples of cavalry in a Sentence

Cavalry is used to perform reconnaissance.

The cavalry were brought in to support the mission.

Recent Examples on the Web

There, Lakotas and Cheyennes, led by Chiefs Rain-in-the-Face, Sitting Bull, and Crazy Horse, surrounded and annihilated 256 U.S. cavalry troops under the command of the Civil War veteran George Custer. —David W. Blight, Foreign Affairs, 8 Dec. 2020

Fort Huachuca Fort Huachuca (wa-CHOO-kuh), in southeast Arizona, was established as a cavalry camp in 1877. —Bahar Anooshahr, The Arizona Republic, 14 Aug. 2024

The invention of saddles and horseshoes, for example, helped enable the creation of cavalry in the ninth century BC, which extended the battlefield beyond the flat expanses required for chariots and into new types of terrain. —Mark A. Milley, Foreign Affairs, 5 Aug. 2024

Neale traveled and served with a cavalry unit led by William Harwood, a Hagerstown physician who became an officer in the war, according to historical records. —Jonathan M. Pitts, Baltimore Sun, 26 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

earlier cavallerie, borrowed from Middle French cavalerie, borrowed from Italian cavalleria, earlier cavalaria "group of soldiers on horseback, branch of arms made up of such soldiers," from cavalliere, cavaliere "horseback rider, mounted soldier" + -eria, borrowed from Middle French -erie -ery — more at cavalier entry 2

First Known Use

1546, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing cavalry

• cavalry twill

Kids Definition

cavalry

noun

cav·​al·​ry ˈkav-əl-rē 

plural cavalries

: troops mounted on horseback or moving in motor vehicles or helicopters

Etymology

from Italian cavallerie "cavalry, chivalry," from cavaliere "cavalier, knight," derived from Latin caballarius "horseman," from earlier caballus "horse" — related to cavalier, chivalry see Word History at chivalry