cavalry

noun

cav·​al·​ry ˈka-vəl-rē How to pronounce cavalry (audio)
nonstandard
ˈkal-və-rē How to pronounce cavalry (audio)
plural cavalries
1
a
: an army component mounted on horseback
b
: an army component moving in motor vehicles or helicopters and assigned to combat missions that require great mobility
2
: horsemen
a thousand cavalry in flight

Examples of cavalry in a Sentence

Cavalry is used to perform reconnaissance. The cavalry were brought in to support the mission.
Recent Examples on the Web But as chaos continues, hopes for the cavalry in Port-au-Prince are fading. Caitlin Stephen Hu, CNN, 15 Mar. 2024 There also will be about 10,000 posts cut from cavalry squadrons, Stryker brigade combat teams, infantry brigade combat teams, and security force assistance brigades, which are used to train foreign forces. Lolita C. Baldor, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 Feb. 2024 Travis King, a cavalry scout who joined the military in January 2021. Haley Britzky, CNN, 18 July 2023 Perimeter defenders got caught in the gap, helpless to close out on a cavalry of Ducks shooters who finished the night 12 for 32 from behind the arc. Luca Evans, Orange County Register, 2 Feb. 2024 Just last month, officials announced the discovery of two 1,800-year-old Roman cavalry swords in the North Cotswolds, a region in southern England. Gretchen Smail, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Oct. 2023 Evans resigned after Col. John Chivington led an 1864 U.S. cavalry massacre of more than 200 Arapaho and Cheyenne people — most of them women, children and the elderly — at Sand Creek in what is now southeastern Colorado. Thomas Peipert, Chicago Tribune, 15 Sep. 2023 Major Volodymyr was part of a team dispatched to Fort Sill, a former frontier cavalry post in southwestern Oklahoma, for a 10-week course on how to operate and maintain the system. Marc Santora, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2024 Swords were common finds, with researchers unveiling a 3,000-year-old blade with a rare octagonal bronze hilt in Germany, a 1,000-year-old iron weapon in Finland and a pair of 1,800-year-old Roman cavalry swords in England. Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cavalry.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

earlier cavallerie, borrowed from Middle French cavalerie, borrowed from Italian cavalleria, earlier cavalaria "group of soldiers on horseback, branch of arms made up of such soldiers," from cavalliere, cavaliere "horseback rider, mounted soldier" + -eria, borrowed from Middle French -erie -ery — more at cavalier entry 2

First Known Use

1546, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of cavalry was in 1546

Dictionary Entries Near cavalry

Cite this Entry

“Cavalry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cavalry. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

cavalry

noun
cav·​al·​ry ˈkav-əl-rē How to pronounce cavalry (audio)
plural cavalries
: troops mounted on horseback or moving in motor vehicles or helicopters
Etymology

from Italian cavallerie "cavalry, chivalry," from cavaliere "cavalier, knight," derived from Latin caballarius "horseman," from earlier caballus "horse" — related to cavalier, chivalry see Word History at chivalry

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