Pavement Meaning
/ˈpeɪvm(ə)nt/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA paved surface; a hard covering on the ground.
nounA paved path, for the use of pedestrians, located at the side of a road.
Sentence Examples
Jeff had to pound the pavement for three months before he found a job.
A strange man was walking back and forth on the pavement.
There are small shops and pavement cafes around every corner.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The young children played on the smooth ____ in front of the school.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The children drew colorful pictures on the ____ with chalk outside their school.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English pament, from Anglo-Norman pavement and reinforced by Middle French pavement; both from Latin pavīmentum (“paved surface or floor”), from pavīre (“to beat, to ram, to tread down”). Morphologically pave + -ment.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The riches of heaven's pavement, trodden gold."
— 1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
"It was a cold and rainy afternoon as Ethel Churchill sat at the window of their new abode, a house in one of the streets leading from the Strand to the river. It was the day after their arrival, and nothing could well be more gloomy than the view: the pavement was wet, and a yellow mist obscured every object,..."
— 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Meeting of Old Friends”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 194:
"Nanny Broome was looking up at the outer wall. Just under the ceiling there were three lunette windows, heavily barred and blacked out in the normal way by centuries of grime. Their bases were on a level with the pavement outside, a narrow way which was several feet lower than the road behind the house."
— 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 14, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
"[H]e attempted to recover his importance, by haranguing upon the Roman highways, when Mr. Jolter desired the company to take notice of the fine pavement upon which they travelled from Paris into Flanders […]."
— 1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC:
"The antirunway munitions are specifically designed to cause maximum destruction to airfield pavements."
— 1991, Airpower Journal 1911, page 45:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The young children played on the smooth ____ in front of the school.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The children drew colorful pictures on the ____ with chalk outside their school.