Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A series of arches supported by columns, piers, or pillars, either freestanding or attached to a wall to form a gallery.
  • noun A series of arches employed for decorative purposes.
  • noun A roofed passageway or lane, especially one with shops on one or both sides.
  • noun A commercial establishment featuring an array of large mechanical or electronic games, such as pinball machines or video games, that charge players money before each game.
  • transitive verb To provide with or form into an arcade.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Properly, a series of arches supported on piers or pillars.
  • noun A simple arched opening in a wall.
  • noun A vault or vaulted place.
  • noun Specifically, in some cities, a long arched passageway; a covered avenue, especially one that is lined with shops.
  • noun In anatomy and zoology, those portions of the cranium having an arch-like structure and running from the postero-external to the orbital region.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A series of arches with the columns or piers which support them, the spandrels above, and other necessary appurtenances; sometimes open, serving as an entrance or to give light; sometimes closed at the back (as in the cut) and forming a decorative feature.
  • noun A long, arched building or gallery.
  • noun An arched or covered passageway or avenue.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun architecture A row of arches.
  • noun architecture A covered passage, usually with shops on both sides.
  • noun gaming An establishment that runs coin-operated games.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a covered passageway with shops and stalls on either side
  • noun a structure composed of a series of arches supported by columns

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, from Italian arcata, from arco, arch, from Latin arcus.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

French arcade, from Italian arcata ("arch of a bridge"), from Latin arcus ("arc").

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Examples

Comments

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  • WordNet leaves out 'arcade' in the sense of 'venue for playing coin-operated video games, pinball, etc.'—as in 'penny arcade' and 'amusement arcade'.

    February 2, 2008