noun
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US and Canadian word: sidewalk. a hard-surfaced path for pedestrians alongside and a little higher than a road
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a paved surface, esp one that is a thoroughfare
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the material used in paving
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civil engineering the hard layered structure that forms a road carriageway, airfield runway, vehicle park, or other paved areas
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geology a level area of exposed rock resembling a paved road See limestone pavement
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of pavement
1250–1300; Middle English < Old French < Latin pavīmentum. See pave, -ment
Explanation
Pavement is a hard surface that's covered in concrete or asphalt, like a road or a driveway. If you wipe out on your bike and land on the pavement, you may end up with skinned knees or scraped elbows. When pavement is newly surfaced or patched, it's smooth and even — but after a long, cold winter pavement is often full of potholes and cracks. In the US, pavement most often refers to a road or street, but it can also mean any paved surface, like a sidewalk or paved area in a park. The word has a Latin root, pavimentum, "level surface that's been beaten firm."
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.
Pavement parking is currently banned outright in London and Scotland, with councils elsewhere in England able to introduce restrictions for specific streets.
From BBC • Jan. 8, 2026
The charity on Roman Pavement offers offers warm space sessions as well as advice and support.
From BBC • Jan. 6, 2026
The invented stage show, “Slanted! Enchanted! A Pavement Musical,” included arrangements of the group’s music by Keegan DeWitt and Dabney Morris and starred Michael Esper, Zoe Lister-Jones and Kathryn Gallagher.
From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2025
Though Perry’s relationship with Ghost spans nearly a decade, his work with the revered alt-rock band Pavement goes all the way back to 1999.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2024
At first the young couple lived at the stable, at the sign of the Swan and Hoop, Finsbury Pavement, facing the then open space of Lower Moorfields.
From Life of John Keats His Life and Poetry, his Friends, Critics and After-fame by Colvin, Sidney
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.
