pavement

pavement — noun

1. the paved strip beside a street that people use when walking.

1.nounB1
Definition

the paved strip beside a street that people use when walking.

Example

Ella waited on the pavement outside the bakery before sunrise.

pattern: on the pavement outside + place

A cyclist fell after his front wheel hit the high pavement edge.

collocation: pavement edge

Common collocations
  • pavement edge
  • stay on the pavement
  • step onto the pavement
  • pavement outside the shop
Synonyms
  • sidewalk

    the direct American English equivalent

  • footpath

    often means a walking path away from streets, for example in parks or fields

  • walkway

    a broader word for any built passage people walk along

Grammar Patterns

on the pavement

step off/onto the pavement

pavement outside + place

Usage Note

In British English, this is the usual word for the walking area beside a road. American English usually says sidewalk for this sense.

Common Mistakes

We waited on the sidewalk outside the bank in London.
We waited on the pavement outside the bank in London.
in British English, pavement is the usual word for the walking area beside the road.

2. the hard top layer of a road after it has been laid for traffic.

2.nounB2
Definition

the hard top layer of a road after it has been laid for traffic.

Example

Fresh black pavement shone after the road crew left.

collocation: fresh black pavement

The summer heat made the pavement soft under the truck tires.

Common collocations
  • fresh pavement
  • new pavement
  • paint lines on the pavement
  • cracks in the pavement
Synonyms
  • road surface

    a clear neutral phrase for the top layer vehicles move on

  • asphalt

    often names the material itself, not the whole surface in every case

  • roadway

    means the part of a road used by vehicles, so it is broader than pavement

Grammar Patterns

new pavement

lines on the pavement

cracks in the pavement

Usage Note

Usually discussed with roads, repairs, cracks, heat, or painted lines. Distinguish from sense 1, which names the place where people walk beside the road.

Common Mistakes

The truck left marks in the pavement.
The truck left marks on the pavement.
tire marks are on the road surface, not inside it.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For noun/1, pavement is the normal British word for the walking strip beside a road. Sidewalk is the closest American English match, so the difference is mainly regional. Footpath can also be used for walkers, but it often suggests parks, fields, or routes away from traffic rather than a city street. Walkway is broader and can describe any built passage for people on foot, including those inside stations or between buildings. Path is the widest of these words and may be natural, narrow, or even figurative, so it is less exact here. In London you would say 'Wait on the pavement,' but in New York you would usually say 'Wait on the sidewalk.'

sidewalk ↗footpath ↗walkwaypath ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • wet pavement
  • cracked pavement
  • new pavement

Phrases

  • repair the pavement
  • step onto the pavement

Prepositions

  • on the pavement
  • across the pavement

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Pavement came into English through Old French from Latin pavimentum, a word for a floor or hard surface made firm by beating it down. The older Latin verb meant to strike or press flat, which fits the idea of a surface prepared for walking or driving.