Definition of "cadence" []

• Balanced, rhythmic flow, as of poetry or oratory. (noun)
• The measure or beat of movement, as in dancing or marching. (noun)
• A falling inflection of the voice, as at the end of a sentence. (noun)
• General inflection or modulation of the voice. (noun)
• Music A progression of chords moving to a harmonic close, point of rest, or sense of resolution. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Because of its directness the cadence V-- I is called the _authentic cadence_."
• "No. 1 is illustrated in Ex. 15; No. 2, in Ex. 42 and the first four measures of Ex. 43 (cadence not perfect, it is true, but same phrase-melody and _same cadence_); No. 3 is seen in Ex. 44"
• "But it is not just for introducing the word 'cadence' into rugby commentary that Moore is cherishable."