walk

SayWAWK/wɔk//wɔːk/

Verbwalks, walking, walked

Noun pluralwalks

33 meanings of walk

Practice

1
go on footverbintransitive
To move along on your feet, one step at a time, keeping at least one foot on the ground.
We walk to school together every morning.
The baby is just learning to walk.
UsageSay walk to a place.
Similarstroll, amble, wander, stride
Note
2
verbtransitive
To go along a road, path, or distance on foot.
We walk the beach looking for shells.
The guard walked the halls all night.
UsageSay walk the beach, with no word in between.
Similartraverse
Note
3
nouncountable
A trip you make on foot, or how far you have to walk.
We went for a walk after lunch.
A long walk by the sea helped her relax.
UsageYou go for a walk (not ~~incorrect: make a walk~~).
Similarstroll, ramble, hike
4
escort on footverbtransitive
To go on foot with a person or animal, or push a bike along beside you as you walk.
I walk the dog before breakfast every day.
She walked her little sister to the gate.
UsageSay walk the dog or walk someone home.
Similarescort, accompany
Note
5
verbtransitive
To help someone do a task by carefully showing or explaining each step, used with through.
Can you walk me through how to set up my new phone?
The nurse walked my dad through his new exercises before he went home.
UsageSay walk me through it.
Similartalk, take, guide
6
free pass (baseball)nouncountable
In baseball, going to first base after the umpire calls four balls, or when the other team asks for it without pitching.
Like being let through a gate for free because the other side made a mistake.
The batter earned a walk after four balls.
A walk put the runner on first base.
UsageA batter draws a walk.
Note
7
verbtransitive
In baseball, to let a batter reach first base after four balls or on purpose, or to reach it that way.
Like letting someone skip the line and go straight to the front.
The pitcher walked the first batter of the game.
Pitchers sometimes walk a strong hitter on purpose.
Note
8
quitverbcolloquialintransitive
To quit a job or leave a situation, often suddenly.
If they cut his pay again, he'll walk.
She got fed up with the rules and just walked.
UsageOften a threat: I'll walk if things don't change.
Similarquit, resign, leave
Oppositestay
9
pathnouncountable
A path or sidewalk made for people to walk on.
We swept the leaves off the front walk.
A narrow walk led down to the pond.
Similarpath, pathway, footpath, promenade, sidewalk
10
lead a lifeverbintransitive
To live and behave in a certain way.
He tried to walk in the truth for the rest of his life.
They walked humbly despite their great wealth.
UsageSay walk humbly or walk with honesty.
Similarlive, behave, act
Note

Less common meanings

11
nounfigurativelycountable
The way a person lives and behaves. In walk of life, it means a person's job or place in society.
People from all walks of life came to the concert.
He tried to keep his walk with God honest and humble.
UsageIn religious talk, people say your walk with God.
Similarpath, course, life
Note
12
gaitnouncountable
The way a person moves when they go on foot.
You can recognize him by his slow, heavy walk.
Her confident walk caught everyone's attention.
UsageSay a slow walk or a confident walk.
Similargait, stride, step, carriage
13
easy tasknouncolloquialcountable
Something that is very easy to do, needing little effort.
Like tying your shoes: something you do without even thinking.
After all that practice, the test was a walk.
Fixing the leak turned out to be a walk.
UsageSay it's a walk or a walk in the park.
Similarbreeze, cinch, snap, doddle, pushover
Oppositestruggle, slog, ordeal
Note
14
go freeverbcolloquialintransitive
To go free after a court case instead of being punished, often when really guilty.
Like a fish slipping out of the net and swimming away.
If the evidence is thrown out, the suspect could walk.
Everyone was shocked when he walked despite the strong case against him.
UsageOften in let someone walk or walk on a technicality.
Note
15
go missingverbcolloquialeuphemisticintransitive
Of a thing, to disappear, often because someone has stolen it.
Leave your phone on the bench and it might walk.
My good pen walked sometime last week.
UsageSay it might walk, or things walk off.
Similardisappear, vanish
Note
16
track racenouncountable
A track race in which athletes must always keep one foot touching the ground.
Like a running race, except you must always keep one foot on the ground.
She won the 20-kilometer walk at the regional meet.
Athletes train for years to compete in the Olympic walk.
Note
17
creep (machine)verbintransitive
Of a heavy thing, to move a little at a time by rocking side to side, or to move it like that.
Like a spinning coin that slowly travels across a table before it falls.
The heavy washing machine can walk across the floor when it shakes.
The ladder began to walk away from the wall as he climbed.
Similarcreep, shift
18
wander restlesslyverbintransitive
To move around restlessly when meant to stay still, like a sleepwalker or a ghost.
Like someone who cannot sit still and keeps wandering around the house.
Locals swear the old miller's ghost still walks at midnight.
She tends to walk in her sleep when she is stressed.
UsageSay walk in your sleep, or that a ghost walks.
Similarwander, roam, prowl
Note
19
cricketverbintransitive
In cricket, to leave the field on your own when you know you are out, without waiting for the umpire's decision.
Like admitting you are out in a game instead of waiting to be told.
Good sportsmen walk when they know they have edged the ball.
He walked before the umpire even raised his finger.
Note
20
nouncountable
The slowest normal speed at which a person or animal moves on its feet, slower than running.
The runners slowed to a walk near the top of the hill.
The old horse went along the beach at a walk.
UsageSay at a walk or slowed to a walk.
Note
21
verbcolloquial
In a hotel, to send a guest to a different hotel when no room is free even though they booked one.
22
noun
In poker, a hand where every other player gives up, letting the big blind win without playing.
23
noun
In math, a route through a network that moves from point to point along connecting lines, where points and lines may repeat.
24
verb
In machining, for a drill or similar tool to drift sideways as it cuts into a surface.
25
verb
In flying, to move a plane's left and right throttles back and forth, one after the other.
26
verb
To beat or press wool cloth until it becomes thick and matted like felt.
27
verb
To raise and train a young dog in a quiet place so it can later be used for dogfighting.
28
verbobsolete
To move or be active.
her toung did walke / In fowle reproch.
1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene
29
noun
The path between rows of trees or bushes on a large farm, such as a coffee farm.
30
noundialectalBelizeCaribbeanGuyanaJamaica
Land on a farm where fruit trees grow.
31
noun
A place where young dogs are raised to fight.
32
noun
A pen where a rooster is kept before a fight.
33
noundatedUK
A check that had to be taken by hand to the bank to be paid.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of walk apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–2, 4–5, 7–8, 10, 14–15, 17–19

This word comes from Old English words like wealcan, meaning to roll, turn, or toss. It goes back to older Germanic and Indo-European roots meaning to twist or turn.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

Walk descends from Old English verbs including wealcan, with meanings involving rolling, turning and tossing. en.wiktionary.org
Its ancestry extends through Germanic to an Indo-European root associated with twisting and turning. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 3, 6, 9, 11–13, 16, 20

This noun comes from Old English words meaning a rolling motion, from an older Germanic root.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

The noun comes from Old English words associated with rolling motion. en.wiktionary.org
Its ancestry extends to an older Germanic root. en.wiktionary.org