walk
/wɔːk
/verb
1 [no object, usually with adverbial] Move at a regular pace by lifting and setting down each foot in turn, never having both feet off the ground at once: I walked across the lawn she turned and walked a few paces...
- Every time I lifted my foot to walk, my other foot stuck to the ground and caused me to fall forward.
- I continued to walk, my pace quickening once I was in a somewhat safer place.
- As there are never any gaps in the traffic, you simply have to step out into the road and keep walking at a steady pace.
Synonyms
stroll, saunter, amble, wend one's way, trudge, plod, hike, tramp, trek, march, stride, troop, patrol, step out, wander, ramble, tread, prowl, footslog, promenade, roam, traipse;
stretch one's legs, go for a walk, take the air;
advance, proceed, move, go, make one's way
informal mosey, pootle
British informal yomp
rare perambulate
go by/on foot, travel on foot, foot it, be a pedestrian
informal go by/on Shanks's pony, hoof it
1.1Go on foot for recreation and exercise: you can walk in 21,000 acres of moorland...
- He lists his recreations as walking, cruising, theatre, painting and travel.
- The other most important aspect is exercise, walking, aerobics, dancing, skipping, whatever takes your fancy.
- Patients must be initiated into simple exercises such as walking.
1.2 [with object] Travel over (a route or area) on foot: the police department has encouraged officers to walk the beat...
- Residents of the parish would walk the route, carrying willow wands to beat special stones at set points around the parish boundary.
- In part, because of that, I believe that officers walking the foot beat is a good thing.
- I recently attended a meeting in Central Park where a considerable number of us walked the route of the proposed road.
1.3Used to suggest that someone has achieved a state or position easily or undeservedly: no one has the right to walk straight into a well-paid job for life...
- She walked straight into a business analyst position with a major consulting firm after graduating in economics and government.
- After studying computer service technology at college, he walked straight into a job as an electronics engineer.
1.4Move in a similar way to walking, but using one’s hands or a support such as stilts: he could walk on his hands carrying a plate on one foot...
- The focal point of the creation was a 10 ft tall figure which he carried and operated, while walking on stilts.
- Juggling, walking on stilts and even dressing up as clowns were some of the activities on offer.
- During the past week campers learnt the art of African and tassa drumming, how to walk on stilts and how to put together an atlas.
1.5(Of a quadruped) proceed with the slowest gait, always having at least two feet on the ground at once.This distinguishes walking from faster gaits in which ground contact is absent for brief periods....
- Your horse stays by your side always and that includes walking next to you into a trailer.
- She turned around again, and stroked her stallion's mane as he walked beside her.
1.6 [with object] Ride (a horse) at the slowest pace: he walked his horse towards her...
- Just keep walking the horse up to the last point behind the trailer where it is still comfortable and stay there.
- Each assistant walks the horses thru every step of the pattern, never letting the horse make even the slightest errors.
- They walked their horses back to the stables and then handed them off to the stable boys.
2 [with object and adverbial of direction] Guide, accompany, or escort (someone) on foot: he walked her home to her door figurative a meeting to walk parents through the complaint process...
- Mrs Watson gets to her feet and walks us back to our homeroom, which is empty because everyone has gone to class.
- Holly gave Ford a hand getting to his feet, then walked him over to the elevator.
- Then you wait for an escort to walk you the remaining 40 yards to the main building.
Synonyms
accompany, escort, guide, show, see, convoy, conduct, usher, marshal, lead, take, attend, chaperone, steer, herd, shepherd
2.1 [with object] Take (a dog) out for exercise: she spotted a man walking his retriever...
- Taking a walk for exercise, or to walk a dog for that matter, is thus no longer a pleasurable activity.
- Recently, my friend with a lovely new puppy dog showed me a great place to walk the dog.
- He walks his dog Jenny, an 11-year-old mongrel, past the river every day and saw the Environment Agency experts inspecting the dead fish.
2.2 [with object] Train and look after (a hound puppy).
3 [no object] informal (Of a thing) go missing or be stolen: customers have to leave a deposit to ensure the beer glasses don’t walk...
- But do you not find pens 'walk' around the office? I can never keep a pen on my desk, whereas one of my colleagues seems to 'breed' them.
- But do you not find pens 'walk' around the office? I can never keep a pen on my desk.
4 [no object] North American informal Abandon or suddenly withdraw from a job or commitment: he was in place as the male lead but walked at the eleventh hour...
- When we arrived over 100 New Orleans P.D. officers had already walked off the job.
- Should I just walk away from the deal?
- The country was likely to walk away from the deal.
4.1Be released from suspicion or from a charge: had any of the others come clean during the trial, he might have walked...
- $500.00 bail (that means $50.00) and he walked!
- Maybe if he hadn't been so foolish by buying books on forensic investigation or in the way he dealt with his car, he might have walked. But he didn't and clearly the jury thought he was guilty.
5 [no object] (Of a ghost) be visible; appear: the ghosts of Bannockburn walked abroad...
- Maybe it's because of who my mother was, or maybe it's because of that ghost I've seen walking.
- Can you think of a better foundation to a little child's value system than that age-old nemesis of evil - The Man who cannot die and The Ghost who walks.
- Again, a fear of ghosts walking may be the best explanation for burials that appear ‘respectful’ in all other ways.
6 [no object] Cricket (Of a batsman) leave the field without waiting to be given out by the umpire.Increasingly, it seems, such restraint, like a batsman walking when he nicks it, has gone the way of the dodo....
- The batsman knows he is out, yet, I've never heard of a match referee suspending a batsman for not walking.
- Javed Omar was the first to fall, trapped lbw for 3-and he was walking before the umpire had raised his finger.
7 [no object] Baseball Reach first base automatically after not hitting at four balls pitched outside the strike zone.Never one to draw many base on balls, Rich is walking at the lowest rate of his career.
7.1 [with object] Allow or enable (a batter) to walk.Chambers walked eight batters and struck out four in a game that took two hours and one minute to play....
- Things got a bit tense when Gagne walked J.T. Snow on four pitches as well to load the bases.
- After walking Stanley, Barber was replaced by Miller who got Don Weft to hit a grounder up the middle.
8 [no object] archaic Live or behave in a particular way: walk humbly with your God...
- Whether we like him or not, the man was born of flesh and blood, and he lived and he walked among us.
- Having decided to remain here, it makes no sense that I walk around and live in total fear of what could happen to me.
- This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
noun
1An act of travelling or an outing on foot: he was too restless to sleep, so he went out for a walk...
- Back in April, my first walk in the foot and mouth outbreak was at Dalby Forest.
- Ramblers of different levels meet every weekend to enjoy walks around the region including the Dales and the North Yorkshire Moors.
- He enjoys long walks, romantic dinners, and rescuing hostages.
Synonyms
stroll, saunter, amble, promenade;
ramble, hike, tramp, march;
constitutional, turn, airing, excursion, outing, breather
1.1 [in singular] Used to indicate the time that it will take to reach a place on foot or the distance to be travelled: the library is within five minutes' walk...
- This caused a bit of a commotion as the hospital grounds are quite large and it was a five minute walk to reach the main entrance.
- For some reason, the distance was supposedly a hike, when it was a short walk, maybe five minutes.
- That walk was only twenty five minutes, although much of it was into the biting East Wind.
2A route recommended or marked out for recreational walking: there are picnic places and waymarked walks...
- Every now and then by accident I meet people who do my walks, and out on the bike the other day I bumped into a couple who recommended walks Wetherby way.
- The visitor centre was shut, but all we needed was the information board recommending a range of walks.
- As is traditional the route for the walk was from Strand Village to Monagea community centre.
Synonyms
route, beat, round, run, circuit
2.1A path: the street lamps illuminated the riverside walk...
- Improvements to the riverside walk and cycle path will also be made.
- New Walk has been further degraded by the removal of wide channels of soil between the tow path and the walk.
- In the meantime, Spencer's workmen have been cracking on with their other task of refurbishing the riverside walks.
Synonyms
pathway, path, footpath, track, lane, alley, alleyway, walkway, promenade, footway, pavement, trail, trackway, ride, towpath;
road, avenue, drive
3 [in singular] An unhurried rate of movement on foot: they crossed the field at a leisurely walk...
- We started jogging and got to the top of the street we're on and slowed to a walk.
- She looked up to the sky and felt her pace slow to a lethargic walk.
- As I ran past one of the gardens I slowed my pace, stumbling into a slow walk.
3.1The slowest gait of an animal: she reined her horse to a slow walk...
- He flicked the reins and Alberta began to move, first at a slow walk, then at a spirited canter.
- Sarge came charging up the path and when he saw us, slowed to an easy walk.
- The sun had been up for just a few hours when Kayin slowed Star to a walk.
3.2A person’s manner of walking: the spring was back in his walk...
- It definitely had looked like him, and the walk and the manner had seemed all but the same.
- However it was her companion who caught his eye, with her slow and cautious manner, and easy walk.
- We settled into a brisk walk as we exited through the front doors and entered the parking lot.
Synonyms
gait, manner of walking, pace, step, stride, tread, carriage, bearing
4British A part of a forest under one keeper.Helen hitches a ride to Ashley Walk with New Forest Verderer Anthony Pasmore....
- In the mid 16th century a quarter of the walk was set with old oak and the rest with oak, thorn, maple, birch, hazel, withies, holly, and ash.
- The use of the Forest as an exclusive hunting ground waned during the reign of Charles II and the office of "Keeper of the Walk" became a Grace and Favour appointment.
4.1The place where a gamecock is kept.
5British A farm where a hound puppy is trained.
6 Baseball An instance of reaching first base automatically after not hitting at four balls pitched outside the strike zone.It's still three strikes you're out and four balls for a walk but so much of the fun is gone....
- Still winless since his arrival last month, Galva issued four walks and a wild pitch that proved to be the difference in the game.
- In his career, he issued 70 walks in 160 innings pitched and collected 50 strikeouts.
7 rare A flock of snipe.A party of hunters could wipe out a walk of snipe in a morning....
- They are solitary in habit; who, I wonder, has seen a "walk" of snipes?
Phrases
walk before one can run
walking encyclopedia
walk the boards
a walk in the park
walk it
walk Matilda
walk someone off their feet
walk of life
walk of shame
walk on air
walk on eggshells
walk the plank
walk the streets
walk the walk (also walk the talk)
walk the wards
win in a walk
Phrasal verbs
walk all over
walk away
walk away with
walk something back
walk for
walk in on
walk into
walk off with
walk something off
walk out
walk over
walk up!
Origin
Old English wealcan 'roll, toss', also 'wander', of Germanic origin. The sense 'move about', and specifically 'go about on foot', arose in Middle English.
An Old English word that originally meant ‘to roll, toss’ and ‘to wander’, and did not start to mean ‘walk’ until about 1300. The odd expression walk of life, meaning ‘a person's occupation or position within society’, probably derives from the use of walk to refer to the round or circuit of a travelling tradesman or official. In Australian English a walkabout is a journey into the bush that an Aboriginal makes to re-establish contact with traditions and spiritual sources—to go walkabout is to go on such a journey. Since around 1970 the term has also been used of the informal strolls among welcoming crowds favoured by members of the royal family and visiting dignitaries. It can also mean ‘to go missing, disappear’, especially in the context of small objects such as pens, car keys, and television remote controls. The Sony Walkman, a type of personal stereo using cassette tapes, was trademarked in 1981 became a generic term for ‘personal stereo’. See also blood