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

After winning the offseason free agent sweepstakes for both Ohtani and starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a cakewalk in the NL West was expected. —Tony Blengino, Forbes, 16 Oct. 2024

Yes, but: Seattle is playoffs-bound, too, so this won't be a cakewalk. —Maxwell Millington, Axios, 3 Oct. 2024

Directional shapes float and carve well, but riding switch isn’t a cakewalk. —Drew Zieff, Outside Online, 27 Sep. 2024

The joy in the thing seemed to be in what Republicans assumed was a cakewalk to victory. —Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 16 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1863, in the meaning defined at sense 2