noun
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US and Canadian word: sidewalk. a hard-surfaced path for pedestrians alongside and a little higher than a road
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a paved surface, esp one that is a thoroughfare
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the material used in paving
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civil engineering the hard layered structure that forms a road carriageway, airfield runway, vehicle park, or other paved areas
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geology a level area of exposed rock resembling a paved road See limestone pavement
Other Word Forms
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.
At 00:06, a member of the public came on to Newchurch Road and saw Harden lying on the pavement and Matabiswana's friend kneeling next to him with his head in her hands.
From BBC • May 18, 2026
“In fact,” he said when he first emailed me about his predicament, “my friends and I sometimes used the ramping pavement as jumps for our bicycles.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 9, 2026
It was all quiet and business as usual, except for the roaring trucks that were spraying foamy "detergent" on the pavement.
From Barron's • Apr. 25, 2026
L.A. has been slow to repair pavement issues on its 23,000 miles of streets in recent years.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
The fire was spreading through the forest, but not onto the pavement.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
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.
