noun
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a paved surface; pavement
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material used for a pavement, such as paving stones, bricks, or asphalt
adjective
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of or for a paved surface or pavement
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preparatory, facilitating, enabling
paving legislation
Etymology
Origin of paving
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; pave, -ing 1
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.
The click-wheel design distinguished the device and introduced the iTunes library, paving the way for legal digital music downloading to hit the mainstream.
From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026
Two decades later, in the 1860s, the fort walls came down, paving the way for imperial buildings to come up which gave the city its distinct colonial identity.
From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026
The Federal Communications Commission advanced a plan to bring outsourced call center jobs back to the U.S., voting Thursday to open the proposal to public comments and paving the way to adoption later this year.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026
Gov. Gavin Newsom has said California is paving the way for legislative restrictions on social media and artificial intelligence, but child safety advocates argue there’s still a long way to go.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
They built barricades with sandbags and paving stones that they pried loose from the main courtyard.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
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.
