cavalry

Meanings

1. 1nounsingularmilitary

   Soldiers who fight on horseback, or the part of an army made up of them.

   Grammar: Takes a singular or plural verb in British English: the cavalry was or were ready. Used with the.

   Patterns

   • the cavalry charges
   • a cavalry unit

   The cavalry swept across the plain at dawn.

   Napoleon used heavy cavalry to break the enemy line.

   A regiment of cavalry guarded the bridge.

2. 2nounsingularmilitary

   Army units that use armored vehicles rather than horses for fast scouting and attack.

   Grammar: Modern sense; often in names like armored cavalry.

   Patterns

   • armored cavalry

   The armored cavalry moved ahead of the main force.

   He served in a cavalry squadron during the exercise.

   Modern cavalry units rely on tanks and helicopters.

3. 3nounsingularinformalfigurative

   A group of people who arrive just in time to rescue a difficult situation.

   Grammar: Informal and figurative, usually with the: wait for the cavalry.

   Patterns

   • call in the cavalry
   • the cavalry arrives

   When the server crashed, the cavalry arrived in the form of two engineers.

   We were short of volunteers until the cavalry turned up with a van.

   I was stuck with the move until my brothers came as the cavalry.

Common combinations

cavalry charge

The cavalry charge scattered the infantry.

light cavalry

Light cavalry was used for scouting and quick raids.

cavalry officer

Her grandfather was a cavalry officer in the old army.

call in the cavalry

After the system failed, we had to call in the cavalry.

the cavalry arrives

Just as the food ran out, the cavalry arrived with pizza.

Synonyms and how they differ

horsemen

Horsemen is a general word for riders, while cavalry names an organized military force.

mounted troops

Mounted troops is a plain descriptive phrase and is less formal than the single term cavalry.

reinforcements

Reinforcements means extra help of any kind and is used for the figurative sense without the mounted image.

dragoons

Dragoons were a specific type of cavalry that rode horses but often fought on foot, so it is narrower than cavalry.

Opposites

Word family

cavalryman noun

a soldier in the cavalry

cavalier noun

a gentleman or horseman; also a royalist in the English Civil War

cavalier adjective

showing a careless lack of concern

chivalry noun

the code of knights, related through the idea of horsemen

Commonly confused: cavalry or Calvary? cavalry or infantry?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “cavalry”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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