hit the pavement

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Verb

hit the pavement (third-person singular simple present hits the pavement, present participle hitting the pavement, simple past and past participle hit the pavement)

1. (idiomatic) To travel on foot, as on a sidewalk.
   • 2007 July 31, Ceri Au, “Fighting for the Right to Flush”, in Time:

     But getting people to hit the pavement is more than just a health concern. . . . [M]unicipalities are looking to combat inner-city decay by keeping the streets flush with pedestrians.

2. (idiomatic) To travel or begin to move in an automobile or other road vehicle.
   • 1925, "Automotive Section: "Hitting it up" (advertisement)," Ottawa Citizen, 4 July (retrieved 28 Sep 2010):

     "And when we hit the pavement, we found we had covered the last 54 miles in an hour and twenty minutes."

Synonyms

• (begin to walk): hit the bricks, pound the pavement
• (begin to move in an auto): hit the road