noun
-
US and Canadian word: sidewalk. a hard-surfaced path for pedestrians alongside and a little higher than a road
-
a paved surface, esp one that is a thoroughfare
-
the material used in paving
-
civil engineering the hard layered structure that forms a road carriageway, airfield runway, vehicle park, or other paved areas
-
geology a level area of exposed rock resembling a paved road See limestone pavement
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of pavement
1250–1300; Middle English < Old French < Latin pavīmentum. See pave, -ment
Explanation
Pavement is a hard surface that's covered in concrete or asphalt, like a road or a driveway. If you wipe out on your bike and land on the pavement, you may end up with skinned knees or scraped elbows. When pavement is newly surfaced or patched, it's smooth and even — but after a long, cold winter pavement is often full of potholes and cracks. In the US, pavement most often refers to a road or street, but it can also mean any paved surface, like a sidewalk or paved area in a park. The word has a Latin root, pavimentum, "level surface that's been beaten firm."
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:
Where possible, opt to walk on uneven surfaces, such as grass, sand or gravel, instead of pavement.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
The heat felt like 100 degrees radiating off the pavement.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
When the site was last tested, solvents were found in the soil below the pavement and down 150 feet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Elsewhere, vehicles on a two-lane road were seen carefully navigating sections of buckled pavement.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
Alex said the nature trail would be easier on my leg than pavement, so my plan is to walk to campus and start jogging once I’m on the trail.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
AFP on Saturday saw migrant minors milling around in a disused industrial park in Ceuta, while others dozed on the pavements outside.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
You may be spotting bodies of dead bumblebees lying across pavements near you in the summer months.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
He said ignorance of the law was not an excuse, but he believed most people riding e-scooters did know they should not be using them on pavements and roads.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
She said she could not understand why e-scooters were still on sale online and in stores if those that were privately owned were illegal on roads and pavements.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
He had walked several kilometers over pavements, and his varicose ulcer was throbbing.
From "1984" by George Orwell
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.
