promenade
Americannoun
-
promenades
plural
-
a stroll or walk, especially in a public place, as for pleasure or display.
-
an area used for such walking.
-
a march of guests into a ballroom constituting the opening of a formal ball.
-
a march of dancers in square dancing.
-
a formal dance; prom.
verb (used without object)
-
promenades,
present (3rd person singular)
-
promenaded,
past participle, past
-
promenading
present participle
-
to go for or take part in a promenade.
-
to execute a promenade in square dancing.
verb (used with object)
-
promenades,
present (3rd person singular)
-
promenaded,
past participle, past
-
promenading
present participle
-
to take a promenade through or about.
-
to conduct or display in or as if in a promenade; parade.
They promenaded their prisoner before the townspeople.
noun
-
a public walk, esp at a seaside resort
-
a leisurely walk, esp one in a public place for pleasure or display
-
a ball or formal dance at a high school or college
-
a marchlike step in dancing
-
a marching sequence in a square or country dance
verb
-
to take a promenade in or through (a place)
-
(intr) dancing to perform a promenade
-
(tr) to display or exhibit (someone or oneself) on or as if on a promenade
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
promenadesimple
-
promenadessimple
-
have promenadedperfect
-
has promenadedperfect
-
am promenadingprogressive
-
are promenadingprogressive
-
is promenadingprogressive
-
have been promenadingperfect progressive
-
has been promenadingperfect progressive
Past
-
promenadedsimple
-
had promenadedperfect
-
was promenadingprogressive
-
were promenadingprogressive
-
had been promenadingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of promenade
1560–70; < French, derivative of promener to lead out, take for a walk or airing < Latin promināre to drive (beasts) forward ( prō- pro- 1 + mināre to drive); see -ade 1
Explanation
Promenade is a fancy word for going out walking. If you like to stroll through town in a leisurely way, then you like to take promenades. Besides meaning the nice walk you just took, the noun promenade can also mean a special walking place for pedestrians, like a boardwalk. You can also use it as a verb, and go promenading. In Square Dance, promenade is a move where the couples walk around in a circle, and you might be familiar with the promenade at your high school — or did you just call it "Prom"?
Vocabulary lists containing promenade
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The 150-year-old wych elm on the central promenade took more than 30% of the national public vote.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Facing the sea, Havana's famous Malecon seawall has ceased to be a promenade for tourists or lovers.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
At L’Alegria de l’Horta on the Malvarrosa Beach promenade, I sit in pressed clothes and drink fine Valencian wine.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026
The best part: Instead of chain-hotel dining, I had pizza and gelato on the promenade for dinner, sunset drinks at a rooftop bar and ran along the water the next morning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Eyewitnesses later filled in what I could not see: parents’ cameras flashing, floodlights making a second day as the gorgeous couples disembark from limos and borrowed convertibles and promenade to the festive courts.
From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli
But Maine is also home to charming hotels and harbor towns with seafood restaurants and seaside promenades that come alive in warm weather.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
These sort of wind speeds will lead to large coastal waves which are likely to overtop the sea walls and promenades.
From BBC ● Jan. 26, 2026
You may think of Venice as a flat neighborhood of beach promenades and walkable, shop-lined boulevards, but that’s not taking into account the sidewalk mountain ranges scattered about the area.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2024
The lake that rims the city is so pristine that bathers sometimes dip into the water directly from the city’s sidewalks and promenades.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 11, 2023
I feel like one of the famed courtiers depicted in the beauty-scopes or painted on Trianon's promenades and avenue boards.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
Drag queens, including the troupe The Golden Gays, promenaded in stretchy ’80s cougarwear with drop shoulders and batwing sleeves.
From New York Times ● May 4, 2022
From Johannesburg to Cape Town and other areas across the country thousands of people, most with mandated face masks and keeping some distance, promenaded outside.
From Washington Times ● May 1, 2020
Memories of I-10 bedlam began to evaporate as we promenaded through the compact, tiered garden, serenaded by the gentle babble of small fountains.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 6, 2018
The reservoirs are currently undergoing a modernization process that may convert them into a promenaded recreation area akin to Echo Park.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2016
Meanwhile, Atawallpa’s triumphant cavalcade, perhaps as many as eighty thousand strong, slowly promenaded to Qosqo.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
"Here's hoping we have some nice weather for the promenading pooches."
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2023
It will spend another 3 years promenading among the moons, eventually ending up in a tight orbit around Ganymede—the first time a spacecraft will orbit a moon other than Earth’s.
From Science Magazine ● Apr. 5, 2023
We saw startling modernization of Saudi society — I could never have imagined street musicians and unveiled women promenading in Jiddah.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 28, 2022
On any springtime Saturday, a steady stream of quinceañeras can be seen promenading along the blooming rose bushes and gushing fountains of Oakland’s Mormon temple.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2019
She may cut off their tails with a carving knife, this husbandless wife, whose school friends are still promenading through their girlhoods.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
