Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

pave

/peɪv/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.21 in modern English

Syllables: pave
IPA: /peɪv/

9

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To cover something with paving slabs.

British usage

verb

To cover with stone, concrete, blacktop or other solid covering, especially to aid travel.

Canadian usage; American usage

verb

To pave the way for; to make easy and smooth.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"They paved Paradise and put up a parking lot."
"After two weeks Miguel began to circulate freely about the city in his truck, albeit with the long, chrome-plated pistol cocked and ready on his lap. It wouldn't be for three more years that Gonzo would tell Miguel about the secret leverage that paved his path to freedom."

Etymology

From Old French paver (“to pave, to cover”), from Vulgar Latin *pavāre (“to beat down, to smash”), from Latin pavīre (“to beat, strike, ram, tread down”).

Origin

Source language: Old French

Word Breakdown

Root: paver, *pavāre, paviō

Usage

Inflected Forms

paves (present, singular) paving (participle, present) paved (participle, past) paved (past)

Derived Forms

depave impave pavement paven paver paveside repave unpave

Phrases

nuke and pave pave the cowpath pave the road to hell pave the way paving stone

Rhymes With

gave save they've wave dave brave slave grave cave behave shave rave

Questions

How do you pronounce pave?: The recorded pronunciation is /peɪv/.
What does pave mean?: To cover something with paving slabs.
Where does pave come from?: It is traced to Old French.

How to pronounce pave

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “pave”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/peɪv/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “pave”.
Repeat and practice — Say “pave” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.