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

Behind this transformation stands a growing cadre of producers reasserting tequila's identity—not through marketing theatrics but through craftsmanship, authenticity, and deep cultural roots. —Hudson Lindenberger, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025

The stars, part of a six-woman, all-female cadre, rocketed off alongside former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, bioastronautics research scientist Amanda Nguyen, and film producer Kerianne Flynn. —Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 14 Apr. 2025

The Space Force doesn't have its own cadre of astronauts. —Ars Technica, 21 Mar. 2025

Technology as a Tool for Transformative Change A scan through the National Geographic 33 roster reveals an impressive cadre of innovators leveraging technology to tackle global challenges. —Tony Bradley, Forbes, 21 Mar. 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

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