noun
cakewalk
KAYK-wawk
noun
1
Something that is very easy to do, requiring little effort.
"Winning that match was a cakewalk for the defending champion."
"The exam was a cakewalk compared to last year's."
2
A strutting dance style, originally performed in contests where the best dancers won a cake.
"The old film showed dancers performing an elaborate cakewalk."
How to Use Cakewalk
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishNowadays almost always used to mean "an easy task," from its older sense as a lighthearted dance contest.
Common pairings
no cakewalk
not exactly a cakewalk
Word Forms
cakewalked past tense, cakewalks plural, cakewalks singular
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Winning that match was a _____ for the defending champion.
Etymology
Originally a strutting dance performed by African American communities in the 19th century, often in competitions where the winning couple was awarded a cake. Because top dancers made it look effortless, "cakewalk" came to mean anything easy.