pave

[ peyv ]

/ peɪv /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pave ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), paved, pav·ing.

to cover or lay (a road, walk, etc.) with concrete, stones, bricks, tiles, wood, or the like, so as to make a firm, level surface.

noun

Southern Louisiana. a paved road.

Nearby words

pav, pavage, pavane, pavarotti, pavarotti, luciano, pave, pave the way, pavel petrovich, pavement, pavement artist, paver

Idioms

pave the way to/for, to prepare for and facilitate the entrance of; lead up to: His analysis of the college market paved the way for their entry into textbook publishing.

Origin of pave

1275–1325; Middle English paven < Middle French paver < Vulgar Latin *pavare, for Latin pavīre to beat, ram, tread down

Definition for pave (2 of 2)

pavé

[ puh-vey, pav-ey; French pa-vey ]

/ pəˈveɪ, ˈpæv eɪ; French paˈveɪ /

noun, plural pa·vés [puh-veyz, pav-eyz; French pa-vey] /pəˈveɪz, ˈpæv eɪz; French paˈveɪ/.

a pavement.

Jewelry. a setting of stones placed close together so as to show no metal between them.

adverb

Jewelry. in the manner of a pavé; as a pavé: diamonds set pavé.

adjective

Also pa·véd, pa·véed. being set pavé: pavé rubies.

Origin of pavé

1755–65; < French, past participle of paver. See pave

Related forms

un·paved, adjectivewell-paved, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pave

This is a time of transition, but I am excited to work with our team—both new and old alike—as we pave a new way forward.
Facebook Prince Purges The New Republic: Inside the Destruction of a 100-Year-Old Magazine|Lloyd Grove|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Taylor Swift just used a calculated business decision, cloaked in artistic integrity, to pave the way for a digital music war.
Taylor Swift Dumps Spotify, Igniting Turf War Between Spotify and Apple|Dale Eisinger|November 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In contrast, a successful outcome on the nuclear issue could pave the way for progress on other issues of concern with Iran.
It’s Time to Nail the Iran Nuke Deal|Rep. Rush Holt, Kate Gould|October 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Maybe the boys in France and Wales will pave the way for this change.
Skirts Should Be a Normal Choice…for Both Women and Men|Erin Cunningham|May 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The first in the room, to knock down the door, to break down the barriers, to pave the road that we all walk on.
Barbara Walters’s Final ‘The View’: A Tearful Farewell Befitting an Icon|Kevin Fallon|May 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It would be all the easier to pave the way towards a friendship between Philip and him, by-and-by.
Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, No. 695|Various
Staggering out again blind and roasting, he fell on the pave, and was carried off, but with the purse intact.
The Prince of India, Volume II|Lew. Wallace
Such a child will resist infection and throw off the minor troubles that pave the way for serious sickness.
The Eugenic Marriage, Vol 2 (of 4)|W. Grant Hague
In the garden, especially, "it might be said that they had tried to pave the walks with broken glass."
The Origins of Contemporary France, Volume 3 (of 6)|Hippolyte A. Taine
He then goes to the shop, and makes a few trifling purchases, just to pave his way.
The Sharper Detected and Exposed|Jean-Eugne Robert-Houdin

British Dictionary definitions for pave (1 of 2)

pave

/ (peɪv) /

verb (tr)

to cover (a road, path, etc) with a firm surface suitable for travel, as with paving stones or concrete

to serve as the material for a pavement or other hard layerbricks paved the causeway

(often foll by with) to cover with a hard layer (of)shelves paved with marble

to prepare or make easier (esp in the phrase pave the way)to pave the way for future development

Derived Forms

paver, noun

Word Origin for pave

C14: from Old French paver, from Latin pavīre to ram down

British Dictionary definitions for pave (2 of 2)

pavé

/ (ˈpæveɪ) /

noun

a paved surface, esp an uneven one

a style of setting gems so closely that no metal shows

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012