pavement
/ˈpeɪvm(ə)nt/
"pavement" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pavement” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #12,824 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #12,824
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A paved surface; a hard covering on the ground.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pavement |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpeɪvm(ə)nt/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #12,824 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “pavement” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for pavement is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpeɪvm(ə)nt/. Corpus data places it at rank #12,824 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for pavement, with forms such as "apvement", "paevment", and "paveemnt". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "payment", "placement", "pavements", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English pament, from Anglo-Norman pavement and reinforced by Middle French pavement; both from Latin pavīmentum (“paved surface or floor”), from pavīre (“to beat, to ram, to tread down”). Morphologically pave + -ment. The correct English form is pavement, spelled P-A-V-E-M-E-N-T.
Definition
- 1A paved surface; a hard covering on the ground.
- 2A paved path, for the use of pedestrians, located at the side of a road.
- 3A paving (paved part) of a road or other thoroughfare; the roadway or road surface.
- 4The paved part of an area other than a road or sidewalk, such as a cobblestone plaza, asphalt schoolyard or playground, or parking lot.
- 5Interior flooring, especially when of stone, of large buildings.
- 6Interior flooring, especially when of stone, of large buildings.
Etymology
From Middle English pament, from Anglo-Norman pavement and reinforced by Middle French pavement; both from Latin pavīmentum (“paved surface or floor”), from pavīre (“to beat, to ram, to tread down”). Morphologically pave + -ment.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: apvement,paevment,paveemnt,pavemennt,pavementt,pavemetn,pavemment,pavemnet,pavmeent,pavvement,ppavement,pvaement
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pavement - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "pavement"?
What does "pavement" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "pavement"?
How do you pronounce "pavement"?
What is the origin of the word "pavement"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “pavement”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-A-V-E-M-E-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpeɪvm(ə)nt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “payment” - see the side-by-side comparison. pavement vs payment
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.