Cascades

cas·cade

C5141500 (kăs-kād′)n.1. A waterfall or a series of small waterfalls over steep rocks.2. Something, such as lace, thought to resemble a waterfall or series of small waterfalls, especially an arrangement or fall of material.3. A heavy, uncontrolled outpouring: a cascade of abusive comments.4. a. A succession of stages, processes, operations, or units.b. Electronics A series of components or networks, the output of each of which serves as the input for the next.c. 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: an enzymatic cascade.v. cas·cad·ed, cas·cad·ing, cas·cades v.intr.1. To fall in or as if in a cascade: "Morning glory vines ... cascaded over old-fashioned bamboo lattices" (Mary Yukari Waters).2. To occur in a sequence or successive stages: circumstances that cascaded into a crisis.v.tr.1. To cause to fall in or as if in a cascade: cascaded the ingredients into the bowl.2. To cause to occur in a sequence or successive stages: wholesale price reductions that are cascaded down to the consumer.

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

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

Cascades - a mountain range in the northwestern United States extending through Washington and Oregon and northern California; a part of the Coast RangeCascade Mountains, Cascade RangeNorthwest, northwestern United States - the northwestern region of the United StatesMount Saint Helens, Mount St. Helens, Mt. St. Helens - an active volcano in the Cascade Range in southwestern Washington; erupted violently in 1980 after 123 years of inactivityMount Adams, Adams - a mountain peak in southwestern Washington in the Cascade Range (12,307 feet high)Coast Mountains, Coast Range - a string of mountain ranges along the Pacific coast of North America from southeastern Alaska to Lower CaliforniaMount Ranier, Mount Tacoma, Mt. Ranier, Ranier - a mountain peak in central Washington; highest peak in the Cascade Range; (14,410 feet high)