sidewalk
noun
Simple meaning
Any paved footpath, even if not located at the side of a road.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
sydwawkSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈsaɪdwɔk
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
usby extension
Any paved footpath, even if not located at the side of a road.
uscanadaphilippines
A paved footpath located at the side of a road, for the use of pedestrians.
USCanadaPhilippines
Walk consisting of a paved area for pedestrians; usually beside a street or roadway
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: Any paved footpath, even if not located at the side of a road.
Used this way, sidewalk is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use sidewalk
- “Children rode their bikes safely on the sidewalk next to the park.”noun
Share your sentence
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: any paved footpath
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “sidewalk” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.