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
[peyv]
/ peɪv /
verb (used with object)
-
paves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
paved,
past participle, past
-
paving
present participle
noun
idioms
pavé
2
American
[puh-vey, pav-ey, pa -vey]
/ 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:
That measurement helped pave the way for future research into matter-antimatter asymmetries in the neutrino sector.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
The finance minister also repeated his call to meet the Chancellor in a bid to secure additional funding from Westminster which could pave the way for the executive to agree a budget.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
Venezuelans are hopeful the dialogue will eventually pave the way for holding elections in the crisis-hit South American country.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
Scurries unveiled the melody ahead of a critical board of supervisors vote that could pave the way for Rucci’s data center.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
One weathered old hobo told the preacher that if he wanted more pilgrims on that road to heaven, they should pave it with pork and beans instead of onion soup.
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
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
Available in gold, as well as diamond pavé, letters on 14-karat-gold chains ranging from 16 to 20 inches in length.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2022
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
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
Battalion after battalion they passed by—big, confident Germans who jeered at the peasants, and who sang as they plodded over the pavé.
From Mud and Khaki Sketches from Flanders and France by Vernon Bartlett
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
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
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
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
"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
Also, the telecom conglomerate’s InfraNexia Phase 2 fiber transfer project paves the way for a strategic partnership process that could unlock embedded infrastructure value.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
While much of this field is still theoretical, Google says Willow incorporates key "breakthroughs" and "paves the way to a useful, large-scale quantum computer".
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
Becky Peterson graduated this month with a degree that paves the way for her to examine patients, prescribe medication and make diagnoses, just like a physician.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 16, 2026
The decay of Theban power paves the way for the rise of Macedon.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 4 "Grasshopper" to "Greek Language" by Various
In June this year, it was Andy Burnham's turn to face Binface in the by-election that paved the way for the then Greater Manchester Mayor to become prime minister.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
This event wiped out much of the life on the planet and paved the way for the diversification of new groups of animals.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
The combination of physical problems and internal disagreements ultimately paved the way for his departure even though he made a strong offensive impact.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
The ruling paved the way for college athletes to receive NIL compensation, and five years later, in 2026, the NIL economy is estimated to be worth $2.7 billion, per Opendorse.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
Tall sycamores stood in front of the houses and their leaves threw cool shadows onto the paved ground.
From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok
Barrick Mining has settled a long-standing dispute with rival Newmont over their Nevada operations, securing a $1.95 billion cash payout and paving the way for Barrick to publicly list its North American gold assets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
The president has weighed in on paving stones, marble, flagpoles and other aesthetic details around the White House as he reshapes the presidential grounds.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026
Nowadays, the Buffalo product stands on the other side of the street, paving the way for the next generation as one of the league’s older stars.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026
Canada on Tuesday joined the project as an "observer", paving the way for it to become a full member.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
On the flagstone paving beneath both lanterns there were old plantation pots in which Spanish daggers grew and extended their sharply pointed stilettos.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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.
