walker

¹ American  

[waw-ker] / ˈwɔ kər /

noun

1. an enclosing framework on casters or wheels for supporting a baby who is learning to walk.

2. a similar mobility aid, usually a waist-high four-legged framework of lightweight metal, for support or balance while walking.

3. Informal. Usually Walker Walker hound.

4. a person or thing that walks or likes to walk.

   He's a great walker.

5. Theater Slang. an extra or supernumerary.

6. Slang. a musician required by a union contract to be hired and paid full salary even when not needed for performance.

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Walker ² American  

[waw-ker] / ˈwɔ kər /

noun

1. Alice, born 1944, U.S. novelist and short-story writer.

2. David, 1785–1830, U.S. abolitionist.

3. James John Jimmy, 1881–1946, U.S. politician: mayor of New York City 1926–32.

4. John, born 1952, New Zealand track-and-field athlete.

5. Sarah Breedlove 1867–1919, U.S. businesswoman and philanthropist.

6. a city in W Michigan.

7. a male given name.

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walker ¹ British  

/ ˈwɔːkə /

noun

1. a person who walks

2. Also called: baby walker.  a tubular frame on wheels or castors to support a baby learning to walk

3. a similar support for walking, often with rubber feet, for use by disabled or infirm people

4. a woman's escort at a social event

   let me introduce my walker for tonight

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Walker ² British  

/ ˈwɔːkə /

noun

1. Alice ( Malsenior ). born 1944, US writer: her works include In Love and Trouble: Stories of Black Women (1973) and the novels Meridian (1976), The Color Purple (1982), and Possessing the Secret of Joy (1992)

2. Sir John. born 1952, New Zealand middle-distance runner, the first athlete to run one hundred sub-four-minute miles

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Etymology

Origin of walker

First recorded in 1325–75; walk, -er ¹

Example Sentences

Annie spent the next six weeks relegated to a wheelchair or a walker.

From Los Angeles Times

As CNN reported, “crowds gather — people come out of their houses, dog walkers pause on their routes, cyclists and drivers make detours — to protest what the agents are doing and remove any element of surprise.”

From Salon

Her family grew increasingly alarmed, but Schmidt refused to use a walker or a cane, blaming the falls on outside causes like uneven ground.

From The Wall Street Journal

A "significant landslip" has affected beachfront properties and prompted safety warnings to coastal path walkers.

From BBC

Morning walkers, political strategists and journalists gather around this nondescript shabby shack, which has been operating since 1949 and is now a legacy tourist attraction.

From BBC

Related Words

• hiker