sidewalk
Americannoun
-
sidewalks
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of sidewalk
Explanation
A sidewalk is a paved path for walking, often alongside a road. If your neighborhood has sidewalks, it's easier and safer to take a little jog. While English speakers in other parts of the world might use words like footpath or pavement instead, North Americans typically use sidewalk. Most sidewalks are slightly higher than the street and are often separated from them by a curb or a strip of grass. There is some historical evidence that Ancient Greece had sidewalks, though the word itself dates from about 1740.
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:
It roams from the sidewalk to the soul.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Just two years after the 62-year-old actor snapped up the modern 4,000-square-foot home, shocking images have revealed extensive damage outside the residence, with the collapse cracking open the sidewalk and leaving behind a gaping hole.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
Wall Street Journal editor John Bussey was standing on the sidewalk near the office that morning when the first plane hit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Her son Victor, 11, plopped onto the sidewalk to read his Imagination Library edition of "Llama Llama Red Pajama," a family favorite.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
For a minute I stand there on the sidewalk, unsure of what to do.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
On sidewalks, black vendors selling hot corn called out to passersby.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
Nearly a quarter of U.S. children live in a neighborhood without a park or playground, and a similar share lack sidewalks or walking paths, according to recent federal data from the CDC.
From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2026
For a time, the internet did put a Band-Aid on this problem, bringing isolated communities together and providing the sort of crosstalk they couldn’t hear on the abandoned sidewalks of gated developments.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
Water appeared to rise over the sidewalks before crews managed to stop the deluge.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
But mostly what they did was run up and down the sidewalks and sometimes into the street, where the town cops yelled at them for creating a safety hazard.
From "Maybe He Just Likes You" by Barbara Dee
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.
