pave
verb (used with object)
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.
pave
1 American
[payv]
/ peɪv /
verb (used with object)
-
paves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
paved,
past participle, past
-
paving
present participle
noun
idioms
pavé
2
American
[puh-vay, pav-ay, pa -vay]
/ pəˈveɪ, ˈpæv eɪ, paˈveɪ /
noun
-
pavés
plural
-
a pavement.
-
Jewelry. a setting of stones placed close together so as to show no metal between them.
adverb
adjective
pave
1
British
/ peɪv /
verb
-
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 layer
bricks 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
pavé
2
British
/ ˈpæveɪ /
noun
-
a paved surface, esp an uneven one
-
a style of setting gems so closely that no metal shows
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
pavesimple
-
pavessimple
-
have pavedperfect
-
has pavedperfect
-
am pavingprogressive
-
are pavingprogressive
-
is pavingprogressive
-
have been pavingperfect progressive
-
has been pavingperfect progressive
Past
-
pavedsimple
-
had pavedperfect
-
was pavingprogressive
-
were pavingprogressive
-
had been pavingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pave1
1275–1325; Middle English paven < Middle French paver < Vulgar Latin *pavare, for Latin pavīre to beat, ram, tread down
Origin of pavé2
1755–65; < French, past participle of paver. See pave
Explanation
To pave is to coat or cover with a very hard material, like concrete, asphalt, or stone. It's easier to shovel snow from your driveway after you pave it. When road crews pour hot asphalt on the street, they pave it, and when the city creates new sidewalks in your town, they may pave them with bricks or concrete. The colloquial expression "to pave the way for" means to set up a situation that allows something to happen more easily — for example, if your parents read you books from the time you were very small, they helped pave the way for you to love reading.
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:
But by making strides in integrating agency, belonging and cause into your life, you pave the way for a smooth transition.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
The findings could pave the way for clinical trials testing sEH inhibitors in chronic inflammatory conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular disease.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
Connolly also presented Trump with a collection of poems by Michael Longley that includes “Ceasefire,” a poem inspired by the 1994 IRA ceasefire that helped pave the way for the Good Friday Agreement.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
Coinbase Global has also filed paperwork that could help pave the way for the exchange to offer single-stock perpetual futures.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
“Ah, yes,” Doña Lola sighed, “electricity. Pretty soon they’ll bring water, too, and then they’ll pave the road and bring cars, buses maybe. Ah, yes.”
From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
In person, it's dazzling, with a huge, oval-cut diamond set on a 18-karat white and rose gold diamond pavé band.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2025
It’s not that the watch is hideous; it’s more that the 150 hand-placed Czech crystal pavé setting and link bracelet ooze of ostentatious glitz.
From The Verge ● Jul. 16, 2022
Released on April 10, the three-piece collection includes a standout, massive 7.90-carat Lucky Move Smiley necklace with a pavé setting made up of hundreds of yellow and white diamonds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2022
Both the antique and the design it inspired have been reborn as a faceted snow quartz teardrop pendant bordered in pavé diamonds that hangs from a 30-inch yellow-gold chain.
From New York Times ● Mar. 25, 2022
Crossing the railway tracks by the shell-shattered station we struck into the Dickiebush—Bailleul Road, and drove slowly homeward over the rough pavé.
From On the Fringe of the Great Fight by George G. (George Gallie) Nasmith
He believes the artist is referencing the student uprising in Paris in 1968, which had the slogan "sous les pavés, la plage!"
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2021
Things in “L’Écume” that seem exceptional to us, or to a bunch of idealistic students rallying, in 1968, behind the Vianesque slogan “Sous les pavés, la plage!”
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 12, 2014
I began to think, regretfully of certain rugged continental pavés execrated in days gone by; they, at least, had a firm bottom, more or less remote.
From Border and Bastille by George A. (George Alfred) Lawrence
The old pavés are beginning to give way, however, and we actually got a bit of terre within six posts of Paris.
From Recollections of Europe by James Fenimore Cooper
Item, 4 knights, armed, keeping the sepulchre, with their weapons in their hands; that is to say, 2 axes and 2 spears, with 2 pavés.
From Notes and Queries, Number 25, April 20, 1850 by Various
Clearlake’s greater control of Chelsea paves the way for a decision on building a new stadium or redeveloping Stamford Bridge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Evading plot holes, “It Ends” paves over the obvious biological needs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
It follows veteran Labour politician and rival Andy Burnham's victory in a by-election on Friday, which paves the way for the 56-year-old to challenge the beleaguered Starmer to be party leader and prime minister.
From Barron's ● Jun. 21, 2026
"By enabling robust nonreciprocal quantum synchronization, our research paves the way for realizing more reliable quantum processors and protected quantum resources," comments Lai.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 12, 2026
That, then, paves the way for what I have to tell you.
From Astounding Stories of Super-Science February 1930 by Harry Bates
The original’s success paved the way for a surge in shows centering Black life in America, including “Living Single,” “Moesha” and “Martin.”
From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2026
During his time living at the home, Evans has created multiple outdoor spaces from where the views can be enjoyed, including a secluded paved patio with deck chairs that overlook the city below.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
The Boeing 767 jet, operated by cargo carrier 21 Air, wound up about 1,300 feet beyond the paved runway, Homendy said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026
The exterior of the single-story, five-door apartment complex where she resides is almost completely paved — nothing like the rainforest terrain of her youth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
She felt a certain amount of responsibility to Ernestine and the younger girls, since she knew they would never be emancipated until she paved the way.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
On Tuesday, Paramount’s streaming chief Cindy Holland resigned, paving the way for Bloys.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
General Rob Bonta and Paramount Skydance Chief Executive David Ellison have reached an agreement to end the state’s antitrust fight, paving the way for Ellison to complete his $111-billion purchase of Warner Bros.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
Fed officials had been hoping that inflation pressures would subside over time, potentially even paving the way for more rate cuts.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 13, 2026
The state's high court denied the request, paving the way for the mistrial.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
He motioned to the piles of paving stones and the logs waiting to be dragged into position.
From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson
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.
