crosswalk
Americannoun
-
crosswalks
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of crosswalk
Explanation
A crosswalk is a marked walkway across a road or street. Crosswalks make it safer for pedestrians to cross the street. Another term for a crosswalk is a "pedestrian crossing," a path for people to use when they cross the street. Some crosswalks are simply painted lines on the road, while others have traffic signals that show you when it's safe to cross. The earliest, 18th century version of a crosswalk was a path in a garden that cut across other paths, and by the 1850s it meant "pedestrian crossing."
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:
Instead, officials plan to encourage pedestrians to use pre-existing sidewalks with measures including improving lighting and repainting the crosswalk closest to Bessan-Gligo’s job.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
A man in Washington filmed himself raging at a Mingo delivery robot, yelling “You took a human job!” after the robot asked for help pressing a crosswalk button.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
He should have used the nearby crosswalk, but there aren’t enough of those on the boulevard, so pedestrians routinely skitter and scoot across the street like they’re in a game of Frogger.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2026
A tearful Nancy Iskander told jurors that she was crossing a road when she saw her two older sons disappear as a white speeding Mercedes plowed through the crosswalk.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026
As we waited at a crosswalk for the light to change, Rebecca gently replied, "At least you still have faith in your dad. I can't even say that anymore."
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
Six lanes and crosswalks a half-mile apart: How American urban-planning is failing walkers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
They threaten to run you down in crosswalks and refuse to bow out gracefully when told, for instance, that a pretty mechanical bird mounted on a boutique’s wall isn’t for sale.
From Salon ● Oct. 18, 2026
"We've got reports of robots causing issues with traffic, blocking emergency vehicles because they're acting erratically at crosswalks."
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
“Making crosswalks brighter is important to saving lives,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026
So when it rains in New York, nobody crosses at the crosswalks.
From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
