arcade

arcade — noun

1. an indoor walkway, often roofed with glass, that runs between two streets and ha

1.nounB2
Definition

an indoor walkway, often roofed with glass, that runs between two streets and has small shops or stalls lined up along each side.

Example

Saoirse ducked into the shopping arcade to escape the sudden rain.

collocation: shopping arcade

A narrow Victorian arcade in Leeds sells old books, vintage hats, and handmade soap.

Common collocations
  • shopping arcade
  • covered arcade
  • Victorian arcade
  • glass-roofed arcade
Synonyms
  • gallery

    more often used for art spaces; only sometimes shops

  • passage

    any narrow walkway, with or without shops

  • mall

    American English; usually larger and fully enclosed

Grammar Patterns

a shopping arcade

Usage Note

Often paired with a modifier that names the goods or era: 'shopping arcade', 'Victorian arcade', 'covered arcade'. Distinguish from sense 3 (games venue) by the surrounding context of shops or stalls.

Common Mistakes

I bought a coffee from the arcade.
I bought a coffee from a café in the arcade.
the arcade is the passage itself, not a single shop inside it.

2. a long line of stone arches that rest on columns, usually attached to one wall o

2.nounC1
Definition

a long line of stone arches that rest on columns, usually attached to one wall of a large building so that people can walk under it in the shade.

Example

Marble columns hold up the arcade that runs along the east wall of the cathedral.

architecture: columns + arches forming an arcade

The monks walked slowly under the arcade after morning prayers.

Common collocations
  • under the arcade
  • an arcade of arches
  • stone arcade
Synonyms
  • colonnade

    row of columns, often without arches between them

  • cloister

    an arcade around a religious courtyard

  • loggia

    Italian term for an open arcade attached to a building

Usage Note

Common in writing about churches, cloisters, and palaces. The structure is typically open on one side and joined to a wall on the other; if it stands free, writers usually call it a 'colonnade' instead.

3. a public place, often noisy and full of flashing lights, where people pay coins

3.nounB2
Definition

a public place, often noisy and full of flashing lights, where people pay coins or tokens to play video games, pinball, or claw machines.

Example

After school, Daniel and his cousins spent every coin at the arcade near the pier.

collocation: at the arcade

The seaside town has a bright arcade full of dance machines and racing simulators.

Common collocations
  • arcade game
  • video arcade
  • amusement arcade
  • at the arcade
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

arcade game

video arcade

Usage Note

Often forms compounds: 'arcade game', 'video arcade', 'amusement arcade'. The British 'amusement arcade' often includes slot machines for adults; an American 'arcade' usually means a place for video games.

Common Mistakes

I play arcade at home on my console.
I play arcade games at home on my console.
'arcade' alone names the place; the games are 'arcade games'.

Word family

  • arch
    nounB2
  • arched
    adjectiveB2
  • archway
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words name a walkway or building lined with shops, but they differ in size, era, and feel. An 'arcade' is a narrow indoor passage, often historic, with a glass or stone roof and small specialist shops on each side — think of European city centres. A 'mall' is much bigger, fully enclosed, modern, and often holds dozens of chain stores plus a food court; it is the standard American word for a shopping centre. A 'gallery' suggests an elegant, art-related, or upmarket space, sometimes used as a fancy name for an arcade. A 'passage' is the most general term — any narrow walkway between buildings, with or without shops. So you might shelter from rain in a Paris arcade, meet friends at a suburban mall, or cut through a quiet passage to reach the next street.

arcade ↗mall ↗gallery ↗passage ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • arcade game
  • shopping arcade
  • amusement arcade
  • video arcade

Phrases

  • a row of arcades
  • the entrance to the arcade

Prepositions

  • in the arcade
  • through the arcade
  • under the arcade
  • at the arcade

Etymology

LatinItalianFrenchEnglish

Borrowed into English in the early 1700s from French 'arcade', which came from Italian 'arcata' meaning a span or arched opening, ultimately from Latin 'arcus' (bow, arch). At first the word named only the architectural row of arches; later it widened to describe the covered walkways such arches created, then the shops along those walkways, and in the twentieth century the noisy halls full of coin-operated games.