crosswalk
Americannoun
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:
Mark and Jacob were with their mother and younger sibling in a crosswalk at Triunfo Canyon Road when witnesses said two cars sped toward them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
The attorney said trees and cars limited the motorists’ ability to see the pedestrian crossing sign that warns of the crosswalk ahead.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026
Customers like the photos that capture the capybaras doing something human-like: crossing a street at a crosswalk, or lined up as if to pose for him.
From Slate ● May 27, 2026
The black car passed through the marked crosswalk at “insane speed,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
Canton's mom had turned her back just for a moment, a split second, and by the time she realized what was happening, Kenzi was charging across the crosswalk, a school bus heading right toward him.
From "Look Both Ways" by Jason Reynolds
"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
The city initially removed the markings, citing accessibility requirements, before later reversing course and installing permanent crosswalks following public outcry.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
We can place it over to the side into a larger snow pile while making sure it’s not in the way of the crosswalks and curbs.
From Slate ● Feb. 24, 2026
A group of activists, frustrated by the city of Los Angeles’ delays in painting crosswalks at intersections, took on the task in Westwood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 24, 2026
All classrooms were crowded, swarms were on the crosswalks, the dormitories were as noisy as factories, every bulletin board was a forest of notices.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
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.
