walk

[ wawk ]

verb (used without object)

1. to advance or travel on foot at a moderate speed or pace; proceed by steps; move by advancing the feet alternately so that there is always one foot on the ground in bipedal locomotion and two or more feet on the ground in quadrupedal locomotion.

   Synonyms: promenade, perambulate, ambulate, saunter, stroll, stride, step

2. to move about or travel on foot for exercise or pleasure:

   We can walk in the park after lunch.

3. (of things) to move in a manner suggestive of walking, as through repeated vibrations or the effect of alternate expansion and contraction:

   If she keeps playing so hard, that vase will walk right off the piano.

4. Baseball. to receive a base on balls.
5. Slang.
   1. to go on strike; stage a walkout:

      The miners will walk unless they get a pay raise.

   2. to be acquitted or to be released or fined rather than sentenced to jail:

      If the prosecutor doesn't present his case well, the murderer may walk.

6. to go about on the earth, or appear to living persons, as a ghost:

   to believe that spirits walk at night.

7. (of a tool, pointer, or pen of a recording device, etc.) to glide, slip, or move from a straight course, fixed position, or the like:

   A regular drill bit may walk on a plastic surface when you first try to make a hole.

   When the earthquake started, the pen on the seismograph walked all over the paper.

8. to conduct oneself in a particular manner; pursue a particular course of life:

   to walk humbly with thy God.

9. Basketball. travel ( def 8 ).
10. Obsolete. to be in motion or action.

verb (used with object)

1. to proceed through, over, or upon at a moderate pace on foot:

   walking London streets by night;

   walking the floor all night.

2. to cause to walk; lead, drive, or ride at a walk, as an animal:

   We walked our horses the last quarter of a mile.

3. to force or help to walk, as a person:

   They were walking him around the room soon after his operation.

4. to conduct or accompany on a walk:

   He walked them about the park.

5. to move (a box, trunk, or other object) in a manner suggestive of walking, as by a rocking motion.
6. Baseball. (of a pitcher) to give a base on balls to (a batter).
7. to spend or pass (time) in walking (often followed by away ):

   We walked the morning away along the beach.

8. to cause or accomplish by walking:

   We saw them walking guard over the chain gang.

9. to examine, measure, etc., by traversing on foot: to walk the boundaries of the property.

   to walk a track;

   to walk the boundaries of the property.

10. Informal. to send (a person who has a reservation at a hotel) to another hotel because of overbooking:

    It's exasperating to find yourself walked when you arrive at a hotel late in the evening.

noun

1. an act or instance of walking, or going on foot at a moderate pace.

   Synonyms: constitutional, promenade, stroll

2. an act, instance, or period of going somewhere on foot at a moderate pace for exercise or pleasure:

   After lunch we went for a walk on one of the nearby trails.

3. a distance covered or to be covered on foot, often in terms of the time required:

   My cottage is about ten minutes' walk from a little general store.

4. the gait or pace of a person or an animal that walks, or moves along on foot at slow or moderate speed:

   The horse allowed itself to be led at a walk around the paddock.

   Synonyms: carriage, step

5. a characteristic or individual manner of moving along on foot:

   It was impossible to mistake her walk.

6. a department or branch of activity, or a particular line of work:

   They found every walk of life closed against them.

   Synonyms: field, area, sphere

7. Baseball. base on balls.
8. a path or way for pedestrians at the side of a street or road; sidewalk.

   Synonyms: avenue, alley, footpath, passage

9. a place prepared or set apart for walking.

   Synonyms: passage, avenue, alley, footpath

10. a path in a garden or the like.
11. a passage between rows of trees.
12. an enclosed yard, pen, or the like where domestic animals are fed and left to exercise.

    Synonyms: run

13. the walk. race walking.
14. a sheepwalk.
15. a ropewalk.
16. (in the West Indies) a plantation of trees, especially coffee trees.
17. a group, company, or congregation, especially of snipes.
18. British.
    1. the route of a street vendor, tradesman, or the like.
    2. the district or area in which such a route is located.
    3. a tract of forest land under the charge of one forester or keeper.
19. Archaic. manner of behavior; conduct; course of life.
20. Obsolete. a haunt or resort.

verb phrase

1. British. to court or be courted by:

   Cook is walking out with the chauffeur.

2. 1. to go on strike.
   2. to leave in protest:

      to walk out of a committee meeting.

3. (of a hunter) to flush (game) by approaching noisily on foot and often with hunting dogs.
4. to get rid of by walking:

   to walk off a headache.

5. Theater, Television.
   1. to release (a play) by combining a reading aloud of the lines with the designated physical movements.
   2. Informal. to perform (a role, play, etc.) in a perfunctory manner.
   3. to make little or no effort in performing one's role:

      He didn't like the script and walked through his part.

6. to leave unceremoniously; desert; forsake:

   to walk out on one's family.

7. 1. to remove illegally; steal.
   2. to win or attain, as in a competition:

      to walk off with the first prize for flower arrangements.

   3. to surpass one's competitors; win easily:

      to walk off with the fight.

walk

/ wɔːk /

verb

1. intr to move along or travel on foot at a moderate rate; advance in such a manner that at least one foot is always on the ground
2. tr to pass through, on, or over on foot, esp habitually
3. tr to cause, assist, or force to move along at a moderate rate

   to walk a dog

4. tr to escort or conduct by walking

   to walk someone home

5. intr (of ghosts, spirits, etc) to appear or move about in visible form
6. (of inanimate objects) to move or cause to move in a manner that resembles walking
7. intr to follow a certain course or way of life

   to walk in misery

8. tr to bring into a certain condition by walking

   I walked my shoes to shreds

9. tr to measure, survey, or examine by walking
10. tr baseball to allow a batter to go to first base without batting by throwing four balls outside of the strike zone
11. Alsotravel intr basketball to take more than two steps without passing or dribbling the ball
12. to disappear or be stolen

    where's my pencil? It seems to have walked

13. slang.
    intr (in a court of law) to be acquitted or given a noncustodial sentence
14. walk it
    to win easily
15. walk the plank
    See plank 1
16. walk on air
    to be delighted or exhilarated
17. walk tall informal.
    to have self-respect or pride
18. walk the streets
    1. to be a prostitute
    2. to wander round a town or city, esp when looking for work or having nowhere to stay
19. walk the walk or walk the talk informal.
    to put theory into practice See also talk

    you can talk the talk but can you walk the walk?

noun

1. the act or an instance of walking
2. the distance or extent walked
3. a manner of walking; gait
4. a place set aside for walking; promenade
5. a chosen profession or sphere of activity (esp in the phrase walk of life )
6. a foot race in which competitors walk
7. 1. an arrangement of trees or shrubs in widely separated rows
   2. the space between such rows
8. an enclosed ground for the exercise or feeding of domestic animals, esp horses
9. the route covered in the course of work, as by a tradesman or postman
10. a procession; march

    Orange walk

11. obsolete.
    the section of a forest controlled by a keeper

Derived Forms

• ˈwalkable, adjective

Other Words From

• un·walked adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of walk¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English verb walken, Old English wealcan “to roll, toss,” gewealcan “to go”; cognate with Dutch, German walken “to full (cloth),” Old Norse vālka “to toss”; noun derivative of the verb

Word History and Origins

Origin of walk¹

Old English wealcan; related to Old High German walchan, Sanskrit valgati he moves

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. take a walk, Informal. to leave, especially abruptly and without any intention or prospect of returning (often used imperatively to indicate dismissal):

   If he doesn't get his way, he takes a walk.

   I don't need your advice, so take a walk.

2. walk (someone) through, to guide or instruct carefully one step at a time:

   The teacher will walk the class through the entire testing procedure before the real test begins.

3. walk Spanish,
   1. to be forced by another to walk on tiptoe.
   2. to walk cautiously.
   3. to be discharged or dismissed.
   4. to discharge or dismiss (someone).
4. walk the plank. plank ( def 8 ).

More idioms and phrases containing walk

• cock of the walk
• hands down (in a walk)
• worship the ground someone walks on

Example Sentences

He has had years with control trouble and once led the league in walks.

From Washington Post

We also did our own stand-up paddleboarding, with our kids, David and Sophia, and went for long morning beach walks, rarely seeing others.

From Washington Post

The last time I saw a friend in person, for a long walk by the river, I returned home buzzing as if I had been to a party with a hundred people.

From Eater

Rather, he understands when people from all walks of life are considered for important positions, the resulting workforce will be more diverse — and stronger for it.

From Washington Post

When he senses that we’re getting ready for a walk, or just before or after we feed him, Archie looks around for the rabbit, grabs it in his mouth, then prances about, whipping it back and forth.

From Washington Post

Creating PGCs from skin tissue, on the other hand, seems like a walk in the park compared to egg freezing.

From The Daily Beast

“They know there are drug spots,” said Wanda Williams, who was out for a walk with her son.

From The Daily Beast

“They just walk around, they ride in their patrol cars, and they just pass by,” he said.

From The Daily Beast

Your general reaction runs along the lines of: “When will these geezers give it up and go for a mall walk or something?”

From The Daily Beast

Other footage shows him fleeing, keeping to a quick walk, jogging briefly, then walking again as he heads for a subway station.

From The Daily Beast

The two women had no intention of bathing; they had just strolled down to the beach for a walk and to be alone and near the water.

From Project Gutenberg

She set off down Trafalgar Road in the mist and the rain, glad that she had been compelled to walk.

From Project Gutenberg

I could see only the stretch of green before me, and I felt as if I must walk on forever, without coming to the end of it.

From Project Gutenberg

He used to walk through the park, and note with pleasure the care that his father bestowed on the gigantic property.

From Project Gutenberg

The back of her head will be quite in line with her charming little bust, and I for one shall walk round and laugh in her face.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• amble
• escort
• go
• hike
• lead
• parade
• race
• roam
• run
• saunter
• shuffle
• step
• stride
• stroll
• strut
• trek
• trudge
• wander

More About Walk

What is a basic definition of walk?

Walk is a verb that means to move at a moderate pace with the feet. A walk is a period of time spent walking. Walk can also mean to help someone walk or to cause something to walk. Walk has many other senses as a noun and verb. Walk is also used in several idioms.

When you walk, you stand upright and put one foot in front of the other at a normal pace. Normally, when most people want to move from place to place, they walk. We also use walk to describe the movement of animals with more than two legs that alternate feet as they move. For example, you could say that your cat walked across a street.

• Real-life examples: It is a major life stage when toddlers learn how to walk. You might walk to the store to buy food. Cities are full of people walking on the sidewalks.
• Used in a sentence: My foot hurts so badly that I can barely walk.

Related to this sense, a walk is a period of walking done for exercise or entertainment.

• Used in a sentence: I got so angry that I had to take a walk to cool down.

Walk can also mean to cause something (usually an animal) to walk. When referring to people, walk means to help someone walk or to join them on a walk.

• Used in a sentence: Tamica walked her elderly neighbor across the busy intersection.

Walk is also used in several idioms. If someone is said to walk the walk, for example, it means that they do exactly what they say they do. This idiom is often used along with the phrase talk the talk to refer to someone making grand statements and either succeeding or failing to live up to them.

• Used in a sentence: Nathan claims he can lift 600 pounds. He can talk the talk, but can he walk the walk?

Where does walk come from?

The first records of walk come from before the year 1000. It ultimately comes from the Old English wealcan, meaning “to roll or toss.”

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to walk?

• walker (noun)
• walkable (adjective)
• unwalked (adjective)

What are some synonyms for walk?

• amble
• stride
• strut
• stroll
• jaunt

What are some words that share a root or word element with walk?

• walkway
• crosswalk
• sidewalk
• walking stick
• walk away from

What are some words that often get used in discussing walk?

• movement
• feet
• upright
• run
• crawl

How is walk used in real life?

Walk is a very common word that means to move at an average speed by foot.

Today I walked to my kitchen and had leftover pizza for breakfast. Follow me for more health tips!

— Reese Witherspoon (@ReeseW) February 7, 2021

The weather here today is ridiculously gorgeous. Headed out for a walk with my daughter.

— Just another European American (@twilliams1960) February 6, 2021

So a doctor made me walk across the room on my tip toes in dress shoes and back again on my heels today and I think he did it for fun.

— Chad Felix Greene (@chadfelixg) December 28, 2020

Try using walk!

Is walk used correctly in the following sentence?

I carefully walked across the room so I wouldn’t step on any toys.