walk
verb /wɔːk/
/wɔːk/
Verb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they walk | /wɔːk/ /wɔːk/ |
| he / she / it walks | /wɔːks/ /wɔːks/ |
| past simple walked | /wɔːkt/ /wɔːkt/ |
| past participle walked | /wɔːkt/ /wɔːkt/ |
| -ing form walking | /ˈwɔːkɪŋ/ /ˈwɔːkɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive, transitive] to move or go somewhere by putting one foot in front of the other on the ground, but without running
- The baby is just learning to walk.
- He may not be able to walk again.
- ‘How did you get here?’ ‘I walked.’
- walk + adv./prep. He walked slowly away from her.
- The door opened and Jo walked in.
- She missed the bus and had to walk home.
- He turned and walked away.
- He started to walk away from me, but quickly returned.
- People walking past were staring at him.
- You don't mind walking back, do you?
- It looks like a nice place to walk around.
- He walks over to the window and looks out.
- I just happened to be walking by.
- We walked along in silence for a while.
- I ignored him and walked on.
- I always walk to school.
- Taking a deep breath, she walked into the room.
- He immediately got up and walked out of the room.
- I walked in the door and looked around.
- He walked out the door, got in his car, and drove off.
- He greeted her as she walked through the door.
- I was walking down the street when I suddenly felt ill.
- The school is within easy walking distance of the train station.
- walk something They walked the dark streets of Los Angeles.
- Children here walk several miles to school.
- She walked the short distance to her flat.
Vocabulary Building Ways of walkingWays of walking- creep
- He could hear someone creeping around downstairs.
- limp
- One player limped off the field with a twisted ankle.
- pace
- I found him in the corridor nervously pacing up and down.
- pad
- She spent the morning padding about the house in her slippers.
- plod
- They wearily plodded home through the rain.
- shuffle
- The queue gradually shuffled forward.
- stagger
- They staggered out of the pub, completely drunk.
- stomp
- She stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
- stroll
- Families were strolling around the park.
- tiptoe
- They tiptoed upstairs so they wouldn’t wake the baby.
- trudge
- We trudged up the hill.
Extra ExamplesTopics Health and Fitnessa1- Due to his illness, he can no longer walk unaided.
- He walked home from school.
- I got up and walked calmly out into the early evening.
- Jake was walking some way ahead.
- She had no sandals and walked barefoot.
- She walked cautiously up the drive towards the door.
- The couple walked hand in hand along the beach.
- When she walked onstage, the audience started screaming.
- humans' ability to walk upright
- A couple were walking hand in hand along the path.
- He walked straight past me when I called.
- How long does it take them to walk to school?
- I had to walk all the way home.
- The hotel is within easy walking distance of the beach.
- They walked barefoot through the cool grass.
- Try walking up the stairs instead of taking the elevator.
- Women have to walk several miles each day to get water.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- briskly
- fast
- quickly
- …
- along
- down
- into
- …
- go walking
- (also go walking)(both especially British English) [intransitive, transitive] to spend time walking for pleasure
- I like an active holiday, so I walk.
- She's started to go walking.
- walk+ adv./prep. We're going walking in the mountains this summer.
- I walked across Scotland with a friend.
- walk something They love walking the moors.
Extra Examples- For our holiday we went walking in the Lake District.
- Have you ever walked the Pennine Way?
- We went walking by the waterfront.
- [transitive] walk somebody + adv./prep. to go somewhere with somebody on foot, especially in order to make sure they get there safely
- He always walked her home.
- I walked him to the corner of the street.
- [transitive] walk something (+ adv./prep.) to take an animal for a walk; to make an animal walk somewhere
- They walk their dogs every day.
- She walked the horse around the ring.
Synonyms taketake- lead
- escort
- drive
- show
- walk
- guide
- usher
- direct
- take to go with somebody from one place to another, for example in order to show them something or to show them the way to a place:
- It’s too far to walk—I’ll take you by car.
- lead to go with or go in front of somebody in order to show them the way or to make them go in the right direction:
- Firefighters led the survivors to safety.
- escort to go with somebody in order to protect or guard them or to show them the way:
- The president arrived, escorted by twelve bodyguards.
- drive to take somebody somewhere in a car, taxi, etc:
- My mother drove us to the airport.
- show to take somebody to a particular place, in the right direction, or along the correct route:
- The attendant showed us to our seats.
- walk to go somewhere with somebody on foot, especially in order to make sure that they get there safely; to take an animal, especially a dog, for a walk or make an animal walk somewhere:
- He always walked her home.
- Have you walked the dog yet today?
- guide to show somebody the way to a place, often by going with them; to show somebody a place that you know well:
- She guided us through the busy streets.
- We were guided around the museums.
- usher (rather formal) to politely take or show somebody where they should go, especially within a building:
- She ushered her guests to their seats.
- direct (rather formal) to tell or show somebody how to get somewhere or where to go:
- A young woman directed them to the station.
- to take/lead/escort/drive/show/walk/guide/usher/direct somebody to/out of/into something
- to take/lead/escort/drive/show/walk/guide somebody around/round
- to take/lead/escort/drive/walk somebody home
- to take/lead/escort/guide somebody to safety
- to lead/show the way
Extra ExamplesTopics Animalsa2- He walked the pony up and down the yard.
- She walks the dog every day at about two o'clock.
- [intransitive] (informal) to disappear; to be taken away
- Lock up any valuables. Things tend to walk here (= be stolen).
- [intransitive] (literary) (of a ghost) to appear
- [intransitive] (in cricket) when a batsman walks, he/she leaves the field without waiting for the umpire to say that he/she is out
- He knew he was out, so he walked.
- [intransitive, transitive] (in baseball ) to reach first base without having to do anything because the pitcher failed to throw the ball correctly four times and you didn't try to hit it; to enable a batter to walk
- He walked 60 times in 57 games.
- walk somebody Despite walking one batter, Jackson showed solid control of the pitch.
Word OriginOld English wealcan ‘roll, toss’, also ‘wander’, of Germanic origin. The sense ‘move about’, and specifically ‘go about on foot’, arose in Middle English.
Idioms
be skating/walking on thin ice
- to be taking a risk
float/walk on air
- to feel very happy
- Most couples feel they are walking on air on their wedding day.
go/walk down the aisle
- (informal) to get marriedTopics Life stagesc2
run before you can walk
- to do things that are difficult, without learning the basic skills first
tread/walk a tightrope
- to be in a difficult situation in which you do not have much freedom of action and need to be extremely careful about what you do
- The government is walking a difficult tightrope in wanting to reduce interest rates without pushing up inflation.
walk the beat
- (of police officers) to walk around the area that they are responsible for
- We have two officers walking the beat after midnight.
walk/tread a fine/thin line (between A and B)
- to be in a difficult or dangerous situation where you could easily make a mistake
- He was walking a fine line between being funny and being rude.
- She often seems to tread a thin line between success and failure.
Extra Examples- His comedy treads the line between shocking and sickening.
- We have to walk a fine line to make sure we don't promote one brand more than another.
- His buildings walk the thin line between visionary and completely mad.
walk free
- to be allowed to leave court, etc., without receiving any punishment
- She was acquitted and walked free from court.
walk it (informal)
- to go somewhere on foot instead of in a vehicle
- It’s not very far. We can easily walk it.
- (British English) to easily achieve something that you want
- It's not a difficult exam. You'll walk it!
walk somebody off their feet
- (informal) to make somebody walk so far or so fast that they are very tired
- I hope I haven’t walked you off your feet.
walk off the job
- (North American English) to stop working in order to go on strike
walk the plank
- (in the past) to walk along a board placed over the side of a ship and fall into the sea, as a punishment
walk the streets
- to walk around the streets of a town or city
- Is it safe to walk the streets alone at night?
walk tall
- to feel proud and confidentTopics Feelingsc2, Personal qualitiesc2
walk the walk
- (informal, approving) to act in a way that shows people you are really good at what you do, and not just good at talking about it
- You can talk the talk but can you walk the walk?