/kad"ree, kah"dray/ , n.
1. Mil. the key group of officers and enlisted personnel necessary to establish and train a new military unit.
2. a group of trained or otherwise qualified personnel capable of forming, training, or leading an expanded organization, as a religious or political faction, or a skilled work force: They hoped to form a cadre of veteran party members.
3. (esp. in Communist countries) a cell of trained and devoted workers.
4. a member of a cadre; a person qualified to serve in a cadre.
5. a framework, outline, or scheme.
[ 1905-10; quadro quadrum square; see QUADRI- ]