cakewalk

/ˈkeɪkwɔːk/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈkeɪkwɔːk/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈkāk-ˌwȯk How to pronounce cakewalk (audio)/ (ame, mw)

cakewalk — noun

1. a task, game, or other situation that feels so easy that success comes with very

1.名詞C1
釋義

a task, game, or other situation that feels so easy that success comes with very little effort.

例句

After one rehearsal, the school play became a cakewalk for Mei.

pattern: become a cakewalk for someone

With no defenders nearby, scoring the final goal was a cakewalk.

be a cakewalk in sport

同義詞
  • breeze

    informal and very close in meaning, especially for easy jobs or tests

  • cinch

    American informal; often stresses that success is almost certain

  • pushover

    usually used for a person, team, or contest that offers little resistance

反義詞

文法句型

be a cakewalk

turn into a cakewalk

make something a cakewalk

用法筆記

Usually follows be and often appears when someone compares an easy task or contest with a harder one. It often suggests the result felt almost guaranteed.

常見錯誤

❌The quiz was cakewalk.
✅The quiz was a cakewalk.
💡This sense is a countable noun, so it usually needs an article.
❌It was a cakewalk exam.
✅The exam was a cakewalk.
💡This word usually names the whole situation, not a noun placed before another noun.

2. a past American entertainment contest in which Black performers did showy walkin

2.名詞C2
釋義

a past American entertainment contest in which Black performers did showy walking dance steps, sometimes for a cake prize.

例句

The museum's poster described a cakewalk where dancers competed for a decorated cake.

historical contest with a cake prize

In the play, actors recreated a cakewalk from a nineteenth-century fair.

文法句型

hold a cakewalk

enter a cakewalk

advertise a cakewalk

用法筆記

Used for the event itself, not the dance style or the music. It belongs mainly in historical discussions of American performance and Black cultural history.

3. the dance style that grew out of that contest, known for proud posture and patte

3.名詞C2
釋義

the dance style that grew out of that contest, known for proud posture and patterned walking steps.

例句

The dance teacher showed us the high steps of a cakewalk.

cakewalk steps as dance feature

Their stage routine borrowed the proud posture of the cakewalk.

文法句型

dance the cakewalk

practice the cakewalk

cakewalk steps

用法筆記

This sense names the dance itself. Distinguish it from sense 2, which is the full event, and from sense 4, which names the music.

4. a piece of music written to go with that dance or to copy its style.

4.名詞C2
釋義

a piece of music written to go with that dance or to copy its style.

例句

A pianist opened the recital with a bright cakewalk by Joplin.

a cakewalk by a named composer

The band rehearsed the cakewalk before adding the dancers.

文法句型

play a cakewalk

write a cakewalk

a cakewalk by + composer

用法筆記

Use this sense for a musical composition or performance. It does not refer to the contest itself or to people dancing the steps.