pedestrian
Americannoun
-
pedestrians
plural
adjective
-
going or performed on foot; walking.
-
of or relating to walking.
-
lacking in vitality, imagination, distinction, etc.; commonplace; prosaic or dull.
a pedestrian commencement speech.
noun
adjective
Usage
What does pedestrian mean? A pedestrian is a person who travels by foot—a walker. The term is especially used in the context of road safety to distinguish people walking from people driving or riding bikes. In this sense, the word is also commonly used as an adjective to refer to things involving pedestrians, such as in pedestrian crossing, pedestrian safety, and pedestrian walkway. Example: Pedestrians will continue to be struck by cars unless we improve and enforce pedestrian safety laws. Pedestrian is also a negative term for something considered mediocre, uninspired, or lacking in originality. It’s especially used in artistic criticism, such as in reviews of music, movies, fashion, or food. Calling something pedestrian is typically considered an insult. Example: Don’t you think that sweater is a little pedestrian? You want to dress to impress, right?
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of pedestrian
1710–20; < Latin pedestri- (stem of pedester on foot, derivative of pēs (stem ped- ); see pedi-) + -an
Explanation
A pedestrian is someone traveling by foot. If you're a pedestrian, you will likely get annoyed at the drivers who don't stop so you can cross the street. Pedestrian comes from the Latin pedester meaning "going on foot" but also "plain." As a noun, it's someone walking around — sidewalks are for pedestrians. As an adjective it means "lacking wit or imagination." If someone calls your new poem pedestrian, they mean it's dull. If you want to impress your friends while also making them feel worthless, mutter "these people are SO pedestrian," at a party, loud enough for everyone to hear.
Vocabulary lists containing pedestrian
100 Great Words from "Fahrenheit 451" -- Part I Vocabulary
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"Simon's Saga," Vocabulary from Episode 1
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Body Language: Ped, Pod ("Foot")
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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:
Wales produced a pedestrian attacking period that included Costelow being tackled heavily twice, before Ben Carter was penalised for a neck roll.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026
Curb-edge fencing can stop foot traffic dashing across a six-lane-wide arterial, and so can pedestrian bridges.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
The video shows a masked ICE agent taking a pedestrian into custody on the sidewalk, as a man with two dogs on leashes stands nearby.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
At one point, Lyris experiences “a pleasurable sense of ennui,” which nicely distills the feeling of immersion into Mr. Drury’s pedestrian marvels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
But this kind of rebellion threatens only the rare pedestrian member of the owning class.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
An analysis of U.S. traffic collision records found that fatal crashes involving school-aged pedestrians were roughly twice as likely to occur during dark mornings as after sunrise.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2026
Other research has shown permanent daylight saving could lead to more vehicle collisions with pedestrians because of darker morning commutes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2026
A stretch of London's iconic Oxford Street was made traffic-free "forever" starting Monday, as pedestrians took over the country's most famous shopping street, absent of the capital's red double-decker buses and black cabs.
From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2026
Just hours after she appeared, the council had sent everyone in the city an emergency text alert, urging pedestrians and residents to "exercise caution for their safety".
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
But even without pedestrians, the noise from sirens, honking horns, and screaming drivers was overwhelming.
From "The Dead and the Gone" by Susan Beth Pfeffer
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