pavement

[peyv-muhnt]

noun

1. a paved road, highway, etc.

2. a paved surface, ground covering, or floor.

3. a material used for paving. pave.

4. Atlantic States and British.,  sidewalk.

pavement

/ ˈpeɪvmənt /

noun

1. US and Canadian word: sidewalk. a hard-surfaced path for pedestrians alongside and a little higher than a road

2. a paved surface, esp one that is a thoroughfare

3. the material used in paving

4. civil engineering the hard layered structure that forms a road carriageway, airfield runway, vehicle park, or other paved areas

5. geology a level area of exposed rock resembling a paved road See limestone pavement

Other Word Forms

• pavemental adjective
• prepavement noun
• subpavement noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of pavement¹

1250–1300; Middle English < Old French < Latin pavīmentum. See pave, -ment

Word History and Origins

Origin of pavement¹

C13: from Latin pavīmentum a hard floor, from pavīre to beat hard

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. pound the pavement, to walk the streets in order to accomplish something.

   If you're going to find work you'd better start pounding the pavement.

see pound the pavement.

Example Sentences

Today, it lies on its side on cracked pavement, like an abandoned time capsule or a crashed U.F.O.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

He was found by police officers unconscious on the pavement with a severe head injury and in cardiac arrest.

Read more on BBC

Defense attorneys said Ramos-Brito sustained multiple contusions on his face, neck and back and had cuts and scrapes on his body from being dragged across the pavement later.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In the morning, the sidewalk and pavement along Naomi Avenue are littered with crates of discarded melons, tomatoes and other overripe fruit, creating an ugly sight and putrid odor.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Drivers draw crowds of spectators as they perform stunts such as “doughnuts” — spinning their cars in circles until their tires burn rubber marks on the pavement.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• asphalt 
• road 
• sidewalk