Definition

1. Noun:

   • An easy accomplishment; something easily achieved: A "cakewalk" refers to a task or victory that requires very little effort.
   • A strutting dance based on a march; a dance performed in minstrel shows: Historically, it originated as a competition among Black dancers where the prize was a cake.

2. Verb:

   • To perform the cakewalk dance: To dance in the style of the historical cakewalk.

Usage Examples

• Noun (meaning: easy task):
  • The final exam was a cakewalk for the prepared students.
  • After months of training, the 5k run felt like a cakewalk.
• Noun (meaning: historical dance):
  • The performance included a traditional cakewalk.
• Verb:
  • The dancers will cakewalk in the cultural showcase.

Advanced Usage

• "to be a cakewalk": to be extremely easy.
  • Don't worry, fixing this issue will be a cakewalk.
• "make a cakewalk of (something)": to complete something with great ease.
  • Her experience made a cakewalk of the complex project.

Variants and Related Words

• Cakewalker (n): A person who performs the cakewalk dance.
• Cakewalking (n/gerund): The act of performing the cakewalk dance or, informally, doing something very easily.

Synonyms

• Breeze: Something that is easily accomplished.
• Walk in the park: An activity that is very easy.
• Piece of cake: A very easy task.

Antonyms

• Challenge: A task that tests one's abilities.
• Ordeal: A painful or difficult experience.
• Struggle: Something requiring great effort.

Notes on Usage

• The term's origin is in 19th-century African American communities, where a "cake walk" was a dance competition with a cake as the prize. Its modern meaning as "something easy" evolved from the perception of the dance's elegance making it look effortless, though this etymology is complex and tied to minstrelsy.
• In contemporary use, it is almost exclusively used figuratively to mean "an easy task." The literal use referring to the dance is now rare and primarily historical.

Noun

1. an easy accomplishment
   • winning the tournament was a cakewalk for him
   • invading Iraq won't be a cakewalk
2. a strutting dance based on a march; was performed in minstrel shows; originated as a competition among Black dancers to win a cake

Verb

1. perform the cakewalk dance