pave

/peɪv/

/peɪv/

Other forms: paved; paving; paves

To pave is to coat or cover with a very hard material, like concrete, asphalt, or stone. It's easier to shovel snow from your driveway after you pave it.

When road crews pour hot asphalt on the street, they pave it, and when the city creates new sidewalks in your town, they may pave them with bricks or concrete. The colloquial expression "to pave the way for" means to set up a situation that allows something to happen more easily — for example, if your parents read you books from the time you were very small, they helped pave the way for you to love reading.

Definitions of pave

1. verb

   cover with a material such as stone or concrete to make suitable for vehicle traffic
   “pave the roads in the village”

   types:

   cobble, cobblestone

   pave with cobblestones

   hard surface

   cover with asphalt or a similar surface

   causeway

   pave a road with cobblestones or pebbles

   asphalt

   cover with tar or asphalt

   type of:

   coat, surface

   put a coat on; cover the surface of; furnish with a surface
2. noun

   a setting with precious stones so closely set that no metal shows
   type of:

   mount, setting

   a mounting consisting of a piece of metal (as in a ring or other jewelry) that holds a gem in place