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

Pro pickleball isn’t such a cakewalk as Agassi just found out. —Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025

None of those are cakewalk games — if such a thing even exists for the Warriors, who started 12-3 and are since 9-18. —Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 21 Jan. 2025

However, New Hampshire Republicans say a Sununu Senate run, which was backed by Trump, would have been a cakewalk. —Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 10 Apr. 2025

That being said, a rematch of Duke's December win over Auburn would hardly be a cakewalk for the Blue Devils. —Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1863, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for cakewalk

• aftershock
• antiknock
• arawak
• hollyhock
• interlock
• isopach
• manioc
• shuttlecock
• tomahawk
• weathercock
• alcock
• beanstalk