Definition of "cadence" in English

noun

1. The act or state of declining or sinking.

2. The measure or beat of movement.

3. Balanced, rhythmic flow.

4. The general inflection or modulation of the voice, or of any sound.

5. (music) A progression of at least two chords which conclude a piece of music, section or musical phrases within it. Sometimes referred to analogously as musical punctuation.

6. (music) A cadenza, or closing embellishment; a pause before the end of a strain, which the performer may fill with a flight of fancy.

7. (speech) A fall in inflection of a speaker’s voice, such as at the end of a sentence.

8. (dance) A dance move which ends a phrase.

   • The cadence in a galliard step refers to the final leap in a cinquepace sequence.

9. (fencing) The rhythm and sequence of a series of actions.

10. (running) The number of steps per minute.

11. (cycling) The number of revolutions per minute of the cranks or pedals of a bicycle.

12. (military) A chant that is sung by military personnel while running or marching; a jody call.

    • call cadence

13. (heraldry) Cadency.

14. (horse-riding) Harmony and proportion of movement, as in a well-managed horse.

15. (horseracing) The number of strides per second of a racehorse, measured when the same foot/hoof strikes the ground

16. (software engineering) The frequency of regular product releases.

verb

1. (transitive) To give a cadence to.

2. (transitive) To give structure to.