esplanade

American  

[es-pluh-nahd, -neyd, es-pluh-nahd, -neyd] / ˈɛs pləˌnɑd, -ˌneɪd, ˌɛs pləˈnɑd, -ˈneɪd /

noun

esplanades plural

1. any open, level space, especially one serving for public walks or drives.

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esplanade British  

/ -ˈnɑːd, ˌɛspləˈneɪd /

noun

1. a long open level stretch of ground for walking along, esp beside the seashore Compare promenade

2. an open area in front of a fortified place, in which attackers are exposed to the defenders' fire

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• esplanades
  plural

Etymology

Origin of esplanade

1675–85; < French < Italian spianata, noun use of feminine past participle of spianare < Latin explānāre to level; see -ade ¹

Explanation

An esplanade is an area that's meant to be walked on, especially beside the ocean or another body of water. An esplanade makes it possible to stroll beside the water without walking on the beach. You can also call an esplanade a promenade. These flat, open areas are intended to be walked along, and they're sometimes also used for skating or biking. The original esplanades were similarly level, open stretches outside of fortresses that provided soldiers with wide visibility for shooting. In the U.S., another meaning of esplanade is a median strip beside or in the middle of a road. The word comes from the Spanish esplanada, "large, level area."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

esplanade esplanades

Whenever I return to Batumi, which I’ve done five times, I always do three things: I stroll along the palm-fringed seaside esplanade, admiring the gardens first landscaped in 1881.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025

The sandstone sculptures adorn the façade of the Scotch Whisky Experience, just in front of the Edinburgh Castle esplanade.

From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2025

The esplanade will be refurbished; visitors will no longer have to line up for tickets outside; and the permanent collections will be rearranged and rehung.

From New York Times ● Oct. 3, 2023

Francis was spending the morning at the Fatima shrine, praying with sick people and prisoners, alongside pilgrims who began filling Fatima’s central esplanade long before sunrise.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 5, 2023

A few days after the meeting on the esplanade, I took my courage into my hands and went to see Father at his office.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

For one hour either side of high water, very minor impact flooding is expected to affect some seafront roads, esplanades and car parks across the island.

From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2024

Throughout the late-19th and early-20th centuries, Universal Expositions on this site produced extraordinary, short-lived cities consisting of pavilions, palaces, houses, monuments, fountains, bridges, paths, and grand esplanades.

From New York Times ● Oct. 17, 2023

On a recent day, numerous motorcycle taxis were parked on one of the esplanades outside the basilica.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 10, 2022

Construction has already begun on a $20 billion project to build raised parks, esplanades and barriers along Lower Manhattan.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 18, 2022

The asphalt on the Bingley esplanade is several degrees more depressing than the asphalt on other esplanades.

From Three Men and a Maid by Wodehouse, P. G. (Pelham Grenville)