Definitions

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

  • noun A waterfall or a series of small waterfalls over steep rocks.
  • noun Something, such as lace, thought to resemble a waterfall or series of small waterfalls, especially an arrangement or fall of material.
  • noun A heavy, uncontrolled outpouring.
  • noun A succession of stages, processes, operations, or units.
  • noun Electronics A series of components or networks, the output of each of which serves as the input for the next.
  • noun A chemical or physiological process that occurs in successive stages, each of which is dependent on the preceding one, and often producing a cumulative effect.
  • intransitive verb To fall in or as if in a cascade.
  • intransitive verb To occur in a sequence or successive stages.
  • intransitive verb To cause to fall in or as if in a cascade.
  • intransitive verb To cause to occur in a sequence or successive stages.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In manuf. chem., a series of vessels, frequently of stoneware, from one to the next of which a liquid successively overflows, thus presenting a large absorbing surface to a gas with which it is to be charged.
  • To form cascades; fall in cascades.
  • To vomit.
  • noun A fall or flowing of water over a precipice or steep rocky declivity in a river or other stream; a waterfall, whether natural or artificial, but smaller than a cataract.
  • noun In electricity, a peculiar arrangement of Leyden jars in which the outer coating of the first jar which receives the charge is connected to the inner coating of the second, and so on.
  • noun A trimming of lace or other soft material, folded in a zigzag fashion so as to make a broken or irregular band, as down the front of a gown.
  • noun The falling water in the constellation Aquarius. See Aquarius.

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

  • noun A fall of water over a precipice, as in a river or brook; a waterfall less than a cataract.
  • intransitive verb To fall in a cascade.
  • intransitive verb Slang To vomit.

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

  • noun A waterfall or series of small waterfalls.
  • noun figuratively A stream or sequence of a thing or things occurring as if falling like a cascade.
  • noun A series of electrical (or other types of) components, the output of any one being connected to the input of the next; See also daisy chain
  • noun juggling A pattern typically performed with an odd number of props, where each prop is caught by the opposite hand.
  • noun Internet A sequence of absurd short messages posted to a newsgroup by different authors, each one responding to the most recent message and quoting the entire sequence to that point (with ever-increasing indentation).
  • verb intransitive To fall as a waterfall or series of small waterfalls.
  • verb transitive To arrange in a stepped series like a waterfall.
  • verb To occur as a causal sequence.
  • verb archaic (slang) To vomit.

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

  • verb rush down in big quantities, like a cascade
  • noun a succession of stages or operations or processes or units
  • verb arrange (open windows) on a computer desktop so that they overlap each other, with the title bars visible
  • noun a small waterfall or series of small waterfalls
  • noun a sudden downpour (as of tears or sparks etc) likened to a rain shower

Etymologies

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

[French, from Italian cascata, from cascare, to fall, from Vulgar Latin *casicāre, from Latin cadere; see kad- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

French cascade, from Italian cascata, from cascare ("to fall")

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Examples

  • In a 2005 paper, Mr. Frank said the virtual disappearance of cod and other large species, such as haddock, flounder and hake, due to overfishing led to what he calls a cascade effect.

    The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed Alison Auld 2011

  • Among them one is the biggest -- a 1 billion euro investment in cascade of Divol.

    Transcript: Sali Berisha Steve Forbes 2010

  • Among them one is the biggest -- a 1 billion euro investment in cascade of Divol.

    Transcript: Sali Berisha Steve Forbes 2010

  • Among them one is the biggest -- a 1 billion euro investment in cascade of Divol.

    Get Briefed: Sali Berisha Alexandra Zendrian 2010

  • The Opera browser, being a true MDI interface, lets you tile as many tabs as you want, vertically or horizontally (or in cascade).

    Chrome Dual View Lets You Split Chrome In Two | Lifehacker Australia 2009

  • Among them one is the biggest -- a 1 billion euro investment in cascade of Divol.

    Get Briefed: Sali Berisha Alexandra Zendrian 2010

  • The evolution of the blood clotting cascade is a very good example.

    Behe's Test 2008

  • The evolution of the blood clotting cascade is a very good example.

    Behe's Test 2008

  • The marines unleashed another furious cascade from the starboard side.

    Jihadists in Paradise 2007

  • The marines unleashed another furious cascade from the starboard side.

    Jihadists in Paradise 2007

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