cadre

American  

[ka-drey, kah-drey] / ˈkæ dreɪ, ˈkɑ dreɪ /

noun

1. Military. the key group of officers and enlisted personnel necessary to establish and train a new military unit.

2. a group of trained or otherwise qualified personnel capable of forming, training, or leading an expanded organization, as a religious or political faction, or a skilled workforce.

   They hoped to form a cadre of veteran party members.

3. (especially in Communist countries) a cell of trained and devoted workers.

4. a member of a cadre; a person qualified to serve in a cadre.

5. a framework, outline, or scheme.

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cadre British  

/ ˈkɑːdə /

noun

1. the nucleus of trained professional servicemen forming the basis for the training of new units or other military expansion

2. a basic unit or structure, esp of specialists or experts; nucleus; core

3. a group of revolutionaries or other political activists, esp when taking part in military or terrorist activities

4. a member of a cadre

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cadre Cultural  

1. An elite or select group that forms the core of an organization and is capable of training new members.

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Etymology

Origin of cadre

First recorded in 1905–10; from French: “frame, border, bounds, cadre” (metaphorically, the cadre being the framework into which temporary personnel are fit), from Italian quadro, from Latin quadrum “square”; see quadri-

Explanation

A cadre is a group of specially trained people prepared to lead or instruct others. Examples could be a military unit, a group of scientists, or a band of insurgents. Just looking at the "re" at the end of cadre suggests the word has some French roots, and so it does. The word, stemming from the Latin quadrum, meaning "a square," also meant "framework." This idea of a frame or border came to suggest the word as meaning a small group that creates the framework for a larger one, much like a picture frame. Your cadre of rebels consists of two cats and a stuffed bear...at least they'll be good at keeping secrets.

Example Sentences

Once Paris was liberated in August 1944, a small cadre of FBI agents known as the Army Liaison Unit arrived and set up shop.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026

But now a cadre of them is ditching carefully worded communiqués in favor of real-time X posts that mix self-mockery and sarcasm—in English.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 2026

A big promotion came in late 2019 when he was entrusted with all of the company’s theme parks, cruise lines and its creative cadre of Imagineers.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 3, 2026

First, it’s home to a surprisingly large cadre of 17 major corporations, members of Fortune’s roster of the 500 largest U.S. companies.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 27, 2026

Uncle Leang and Uncle Heang say that since the Khmer Rouge have won the war, the soldiers removed the old village chief and replaced him with a Khmer Rouge cadre.

From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung

Related Words

• organization
• personnel
• staff