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PlainSpell

pave

/peɪv/verb

pave is spelled P-A-V-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.6 times per million words in written English, the 22,073rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, pave means “To cover something with paving slabs” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in pave?

Letters4: P-A-V-E
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing1.6 times per million words; the 22,073rd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is pave?

Pave appears 1.6 times per million words in written English, the 22,073rd most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce pave?

  • /peɪv/

Pave has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-pave.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with pave?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as pave from its last stressed vowel (/eɪ/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: vape.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of pave

  • paves present, singular, he/she/it
  • paving participle, present
  • paved participle, past
  • pavés present, singular, he/she/it
  • pavéing participle, present
  • pavéed participle, past
  • pavéd participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does pave mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    UKTo cover something with paving slabs.

  2. 2

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

  3. 3

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

noun

as pavé
  1. 1

    A paved surface, a pavement (now only in French contexts).

  2. 2

    A setting of gemstones such that no metal is visible, especially when the stones are set very close together.

  3. 3

    Any of various food items having a rectangular shape.

verb

as pavé
  1. 1

    To arrange gemstones in jewellery so that no metal is visible, especially when the stones are set very close together.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Pave in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchpaver ((British) to cover with paving stones), pavé (rectangular food item)
Germanmit Platten auslegen ((British) to cover with paving stones), pflastern, bepflastern ((North American) to cover with stones, asphalt…)
Portuguesepavimentar ((British) to cover with paving stones)
Spanishpavimentar ((British) to cover with paving stones), asfaltar ((North American) to cover with stones, asphalt…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does pave come from?

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”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after pave