CASCADE

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does cascade mean? 

• CASCADE (noun)
  The noun CASCADE has 3 senses:

1. a small waterfall or series of small waterfalls

2. a succession of stages or operations or processes or units

3. a sudden downpour (as of tears or sparks etc) likened to a rain shower

  Familiarity information: CASCADE used as a noun is uncommon.

• CASCADE (verb)
  The verb CASCADE has 2 senses:

1. rush down in big quantities, like a cascade

2. arrange (open windows) on a computer desktop so that they overlap each other, with the title bars visible

  Familiarity information: CASCADE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CASCADE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A small waterfall or series of small waterfalls

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("cascade" is a kind of...):

falls; waterfall (a steep descent of the water of a river)

Derivation:

cascade (rush down in big quantities, like a cascade)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A succession of stages or operations or processes or units

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Context example:

separation of isotopes by a cascade of processes

Hypernyms ("cascade" is a kind of...):

succession (a group of people or things arranged or following in order)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A sudden downpour (as of tears or sparks etc) likened to a rain shower

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

cascade; shower

Context example:

a sudden cascade of sparks

Hypernyms ("cascade" is a kind of...):

descent (a movement downward)

• CASCADE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they cascade    ... he / she / it cascades   
Past simple: cascaded   
Past participle: cascaded   
-ing form: cascading   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Rush down in big quantities, like a cascade

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

cascade; cascade down

Hypernyms (to "cascade" is one way to...):

come down; descend; fall; go down (move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

cascade (a small waterfall or series of small waterfalls)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Arrange (open windows) on a computer desktop so that they overlap each other, with the title bars visible

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "cascade" is one way to...):

arrange; set up (put into a proper or systematic order)

Domain category:

computer science; computing (the branch of engineering science that studies (with the aid of computers) computable processes and structures)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

 Context examples 

This gene plays a role in the regulation of the complement cascade.

(CD55 Gene, NCI Thesaurus)

CAV1 is a tumor suppressor candidate and a negative regulator of the Ras-p42/44 MAP kinase cascade.

(Caveolin 1, NCI Thesaurus)

TNF family receptors that cause apoptosis directly activate the caspase cascade, but can also activate Bid, a Bcl-2 family member, which activates mitochondria-mediated apoptosis.

(Mitochondria in Apoptotic Signaling Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

The MAPKs are part of complex protein kinase cascades.

(Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase, NCI Thesaurus)

Binding of NGF to the TrkA receptor causes activation of the receptor tyrosine kinase and downstream signaling cascades.

(Nerve Growth Factor Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

This protein plays a role in the mitochondrial respiratory cascade.

(NADH Dehydrogenase [Ubiquinone] Flavoprotein 1, Mitochondrial, NCI Thesaurus)

The caspases at the upper end of the cascade include caspase-8 and caspase-9.

(Caspase Cascade Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

This gene plays a role in the initiation of the apoptotic cascade.

(CASP9 Gene, NCI Thesaurus)

Out there fell a cascade of children’s bricks.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This allele, which encodes axin-1 protein, is involved in the attenuation of the Wnt protein signaling cascade.

(AXIN1 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)