sidewalk

[sahyd-wawk]

noun

a walk, especially a paved one, at the side of a street or road.

Origin of sidewalk

First recorded in 1660–70; side¹ + walk

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for sidewalks

track, path, pavement, boardwalk, walkway, footpath

Examples from the Web for sidewalks

Contemporary Examples of sidewalks

Small wooden shacks filled with canned goods and phone cards clutter the sidewalks.
‘Argo’ in the Congo: The Ghosts of the Stanleyville Hostage Crisis
Nina Strochlic
November 23, 2014
They roll back the sidewalks precisely at ten, And the people who live there are not seen again.
Toledo: The Town Too Tough for Toxic Water
P. J. O’Rourke
August 4, 2014
The McCullen decision strikes down the Massachusetts law because it includes public streets and sidewalks.
The Supreme Court Lets Abortion Clinics Protect Themselves
Sally Kohn
June 26, 2014
Alongside the emergency vehicles, neighborhood people clogged the sidewalks.
‘It Sounded Like Someone Kicked My Door In’: The Disaster That Rocked East Harlem
Jacob Siegel
March 12, 2014
This was a bright Texas day with a snap to the air, and there were cars on the streets and people on the sidewalks.
Jimmy Breslin on JFK’s Assassination: Two Classic Columns
Jimmy Breslin
November 22, 2013

Historical Examples of sidewalks

"These sidewalks are too narrow for four," declared Mrs. Wyeth.
Mary-'Gusta
Joseph C. Lincoln
By noon the sidewalks were completely covered in miles of streets.
Dr. Sevier
George W. Cable
The gutters are in the middle of the thoroughfares, and the sidewalks are only a few inches in width.
Aztec Land
Maturin M. Ballou
Don't spit on the sidewalks; it spreads disease, and it is against the law.
Rural Hygiene
Henry N. Ogden
It was a very broad and magnificent street, and the sidewalks were very wide.
Rollo in Paris
Jacob Abbott

British Dictionary definitions for sidewalks

sidewalk

noun

US and Canadian a hard-surfaced path for pedestrians alongside and a little higher than a roadAlso called (in Britain and certain other countries): pavement

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for sidewalks

sidewalk

"path for pedestrians on the side of a street," 1739, from side (adj.) + walk (n.). The use of sidewalk for pavement as one of the characteristic differences between American and British English has been noted since at least 1902.