pave

Everyday

1. To cover a road, path or yard with a hard flat surface, such as stones, bricks, concrete or tarmac. tree →
2. «Pave the way» means to make it easier for something to happen later. tree →

In the lessons

In stories and town life, workers pave roads and driveways; a paved road is smooth and safe for bikes. In maths problems paving means covering an area with slabs: a yard 6 m by 4 m needs 24 square slabs of 1 m — area problems. In history and science, inventors «paved the way» for others. Phrases: «pave a road», «paved with», «pave the way for», «paving stone/slab».

Examples

• The council will pave our street next month. tree →
• The yard is paved with red bricks. tree →
• How many slabs are needed to pave a 5 m by 3 m patio? tree →
• The first pilots paved the way for space travel. tree →
• We rode our bikes on the newly paved path. tree →
• Workers were paving the car park all week. tree →
• The old track was not paved, so it was muddy. tree →
• Her hard work paved the way for her success. tree →

Note

Regular verb: pave, paved. Noun forms: «pavement» (UK: the footpath beside a road; US: the road surface), «paving». Trap: in the UK «walk on the pavement» means the safe footpath; in the US «pavement» can mean the road. In area problems, paving = area ÷ area of one slab.