walk — ONAD · Shobdo

walk /wôk, wɔk

▸ verb

1 [no object, usually with adverbial] move at a regular pace by lifting and setting down each foot in turn, never having both feet off the ground at once:

I walked across the lawn

she turned and walked a few paces.

▪ go on foot for recreation and exercise:

you can walk in 21,000 acres of mountain and moorland.

▪ [with object] travel along or over (a route or area) on foot:

the police department has encouraged officers to walk the beat.

▪ use movements similar to walking but with a different part of one's body or a support:

he could walk on his hands carrying a plate on one foot.

▪ (of a quadruped) proceed with the slowest gait, always having at least two feet on the ground at once.

▪ [with object] ride (a horse) at its slowest gait:

he walked his horse toward her.

2 guide, accompany, or escort (someone) on foot:

he walked her home to her door.

▪ take (a domestic animal, typically a dog) out for exercise:

a man walking his retriever.

3 North American informal abandon or suddenly withdraw from a job, commitment, or situation:

he was in place as the male lead but walked at the eleventh hour

we were expecting the merger with Bell to go through—we didn't expect Bell to walk on the deal.

▪ be released from suspicion or from a charge:

had any of the others come clean during the trial, he might have walked.

4 Baseball be awarded first base after not swinging at four balls pitched outside the strike zone.

▪ [with object] allow or enable (a batter) to walk.

▪ Baseball (of a pitcher) give a walk with the bases loaded so as to force in (a run).

▪ Basketball another term for travel (SENSE 3 OF THE verb).

5 (of a ghost) be present and visible:

the ghosts of Bannockburn walked abroad.

6 archaic used to describe the way in which someone lives or behaves:

walk humbly with your God.

▸ noun

1 an act of traveling or an excursion on foot:

he was too restless to sleep, so he went out for a walk.

▪ [in singular] used to indicate the time that it will take someone to reach a place on foot or the distance that they must travel:

the library is within five minutes' walk.

2 a route recommended or marked out for recreational walking:

there are picnic places and waymarked walks.

▪ a sidewalk or path:

the street lamps illuminated the riverside walk.

▪ mainly British the round followed by a mail carrier:

the first job is to sort the mail into routes or walks.

3 [in singular] an unhurried rate of movement on foot:

they crossed the field at a leisurely walk.

▪ the slowest gait of an animal:

she reined her horse to a slow walk.

▪ a person's manner of walking:

the spring was back in his walk.

4 British a part of a forest under one keeper.

5 Baseball an instance of being awarded (or allowing a batter to reach) first base after not swinging at four balls pitched outside the strike zone.

– PHRASES
walking encyclopedia (also walking dictionary) informal
a person who has an impressive knowledge of facts or words:

he was a walking encyclopedia of facts on organized crime.

a walk in the park informal
something that is very easy to accomplish:

as any director will tell you, doing Shakespeare isn't a walk in the park.

walk someone off their feet
walk with someone until they are exhausted.walk of life
the position within society that someone holds or the part of society to which they belong as a result of their job or social status:

the courses attracted people from all walks of life.

walk of shame informal
an instance of walking back home on the day after an unplanned casual sexual encounter, typically dressed in the same clothes as the previous evening:

if you're at his and have to make the dreaded walk of shame home, steel yourself.

walk on eggshells
be extremely cautious about one's words or actions:

his air of tetchy perfectionism encouraged those around him to walk on eggshells.

walk the streets

1
walk freely in a town or city:

it was not safe to walk the streets at night.

2
work as a prostitute:

she walked the streets for a few weeks when she was desperate.

walk the walk (also walk the talk) informal, mainly North American
suit one's actions to one's words:

it's hard to walk one's talk when it comes to keeping the environment clean.

walk the wards dated
gain experience as a clinical medical student.win in a walk North American
win without effort or competition.walk all over informal
treat in a thoughtless, disrespectful, and exploitative manner:

they thought they could come in and walk all over us.

▪ defeat easily.

– PHRASAL VERBS
walk away
casually or irresponsibly withdraw from a situation in which one is involved or for which one is responsible:

they can walk away from the deal and leave the other person stranded

the department's intention is to develop this site and then walk away.

walk away with

1 (walk away with something)
steal something:

a group of corporate cowboys who walked away with millions of dollars.

2 (walk away with something)
win an award or prize:

the team walked away with the gold medal.

walk back (walk something back, walk back something) mainly US
retract a statement or reverse an action or decision:

when given the chance to walk her remarks back, she did not.

walk for (walk for someone or something)
model the clothes of a particular designer or fashion house at a fashion show:

she's walked for Chanel and Vivienne Westwood.

walk in on (walk in on someone or something)
come upon a person or situation suddenly or unexpectedly:

he was clearly not expecting her to walk in on him just then.

walk into

1 (walk into something)
become involved in something through ignorance or carelessness:

I had walked into a situation from which there was no escape.

2 (walk into something)
achieve a state or position easily or undeservedly:

no one has the right to walk straight into a well-paid job for life.

walk off (walk something off, walk off something)
exercise on foot in order to undo the effects of a heavy meal:

enjoy some invigorating fresh air and walk off the excesses of the festive season.

walk off with

1 (walk off with something)
steal something:

someone's walked off with my car keys.

2 (walk off with something)
win an award or prize:

the team walked off with a silver medal.

walk out

1
depart or leave suddenly or angrily:

he had walked out in a temper

he walked out after finding the pressure of the job too much.

▪ abandon someone or something despite having responsibilities toward them:

he walked out on his wife.

▪ go on strike:

teachers are ready to walk out in a protest over class sizes.

2 British informal, dated
go for walks when courting or dating someone:

you were walking out with Tom.

walk over (walk over someone)
treat someone in an inconsiderate or exploitative manner:

people always walked over him and didn't treat him with respect

don't let the cops walk all over you.

▪ defeat someone easily:

a slippery, trickier competitor could walk over them.

walk through

1 (walk someone through something)
guide someone carefully through a process:

a meeting to walk parents through the complaint process.

2 (walk through something)
rehearse a play or other piece, reading the lines aloud from a script and performing the actions of the characters:

he walked through the script with me.

– ORIGIN Old English wealcan ‘roll, toss’, also ‘wander’, of Germanic origin. The sense ‘move about’, and specifically ‘go about on foot’, arose in Middle English .