cascade

noun

/kæˈskeɪd/

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a small waterfall, especially one of several falling down a steep slope with rocksTopics Geographyc2
a large amount of water falling or pouring down
- a cascade of rainwater
(formal) a large amount of something hanging down
- Her hair tumbled in a cascade down her back.
(formal) a large number of things falling or coming quickly at the same time
- He crashed to the ground in a cascade of oil cans.
(formal) a number of things happening, in which each one leads to another
- The protein can trigger a cascade of events that leads to heart failure.

Word Originmid 17th cent.: from French, from Italian cascata, from cascare ‘to fall’, based on Latin casus ‘fall’, related to cadere ‘to fall’.

verb

/kæˈskeɪd/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they cascade	/kæˈskeɪd/ /kæˈskeɪd/
he / she / it cascades	/kæˈskeɪdz/ /kæˈskeɪdz/
past simple cascaded	/kæˈskeɪdɪd/ /kæˈskeɪdɪd/
past participle cascaded	/kæˈskeɪdɪd/ /kæˈskeɪdɪd/
-ing form cascading	/kæˈskeɪdɪŋ/ /kæˈskeɪdɪŋ/

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[intransitive] + adv./prep. to flow downwards in large amounts
- Water cascaded down the mountainside.
[intransitive] + adv./prep. (formal) to fall or hang in large amounts
- Blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders.
[transitive, intransitive] to pass information, knowledge, etc. to a person or group so that they can pass it on to others; to be passed on in this way
- cascade something (to somebody) Managers cascade training to the health workers on how to enrol women into the study.
- cascade to somebody It is vital to ensure these values cascade to all employees.
[transitive] cascade something to arrange a number of devices or objects in a series
- Up to four units can be cascaded.

Word Originmid 17th cent.: from French, from Italian cascata, from cascare ‘to fall’, based on Latin casus ‘fall’, related to cadere ‘to fall’.