pavement

[peyv-muhnt]

noun

1. a paved road, highway, etc.

2. a paved surface, ground covering, or floor.

3. a material used for paving. pave.

4. Atlantic States and British.,  sidewalk.

pavement

/ ˈpeɪvmənt /

noun

1. US and Canadian word: sidewalk. a hard-surfaced path for pedestrians alongside and a little higher than a road

2. a paved surface, esp one that is a thoroughfare

3. the material used in paving

4. civil engineering the hard layered structure that forms a road carriageway, airfield runway, vehicle park, or other paved areas

5. geology a level area of exposed rock resembling a paved road See limestone pavement

Other Word Forms

• pavemental adjective
• prepavement noun
• subpavement noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of pavement¹

1250–1300; Middle English < Old French < Latin pavīmentum. See pave, -ment

Word History and Origins

Origin of pavement¹

C13: from Latin pavīmentum a hard floor, from pavīre to beat hard

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. pound the pavement, to walk the streets in order to accomplish something.

   If you're going to find work you'd better start pounding the pavement.

see pound the pavement.

Example Sentences

We like the way it handles rougher pavement and even unpaved surfaces.

Read more on MarketWatch

“He’s a local celebrity now,” said Shelli Selfridge, a clerk at a convenience store where one of Bradshaw’s flowers graces the pavement and his legal problems are a frequent topic of conversation.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Masonry, metal girders and piles of sand are everywhere along the pavements.

Read more on Barron's

Outside on one of the side streets that are full of stalls offering tourism souvenirs, like fluffy alpacas and scarves, Dina Huillca is sitting on the pavement selling roses, tomatoes and mint.

Read more on BBC

With a frost expected, areas where showers or rain and sleet have left the ground damp are at risk of ice becoming a hazard on roads and pavements.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• asphalt 
• road 
• sidewalk