Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A person traveling on foot; a walker.
- adj. Of, relating to, or made for pedestrians: a pedestrian bridge.
- adj. Going or performed on foot: a pedestrian journey.
- adj. Undistinguished; ordinary: pedestrian prose. See Synonyms at dull.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Going on foot; walking: as, a pedestrian excursionist; also, performed on foot: as, a pedestrian journey. Hence—2. Low; vulgar; common.
- n. One who walks or journeys on foot. Specifically—2. One who walks or races on foot for a wager; a professional walker; one who has made a notable record for speed or endurance in walking.
Wiktionary
- adj. not comparable Of or intended for those who are walking.
- adj. comparable Ordinary, dull; everyday; unexceptional.
- n. Somebody walking rather than using a vehicle; somebody traveling on foot.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Going on foot; performed on foot.
- adj. Lacking in distinction or imaginativeness; ordinary; commonplace; dull; insipid; prosaic.
- n. A walker; one who journeys on foot; a foot traveler; specif., a professional walker or runner.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. lacking wit or imagination
- n. a person who travels by foot
Etymologies
- From Latin pedestri-, from pedester. (Wiktionary)
- From Latin pedester, pedestr-, going on foot, from pedes, a pedestrian, from pēs, ped-, foot; see ped- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“That's why I thought the use of the term pedestrian was weird.”
“Hitting one of those berms while trying to avoid an oncoming cyclist or a pedestrian is a good way to slam face first into the roadway right in front of a speeding car.”
“The new definition of a pedestrian is a man with two cars and a wife and teen age children.”
“In Venice, the "pedestrian" is anything but pedestian, even if you are not a pedestrian.”
“It isn't terrible - it's hard for a competent musician to destroy the strong melodies and lyrical fireworks of Cole Porter - but the word "pedestrian" is floating across my mind.”
“Cars entering the square immediately slow down as they find themselves without a road to rush along, which might not please some drivers but makes crossing the square completely safe - the pedestrian is king.”
“Personally, I think DDOT is doing some good things in pedestrian/bike work, but doing this on NY Avenue right now may be too big a fish to fry.”
Matthew Yglesias » DDOT Decides That Speedy Cars are More Important than Pedestrian Safety
“They are not typically enforced when a pedestrian is caught jaywalking, or driving 35 mph in a 25 mph zone, or driving the wrong way on a one-say street.”
“The initiative comes at a time when New York City has hit a 100-year low in pedestrian deaths, according to Ms. Sadik-Khan.”
The Wall Street Journal: Safety Measures Set for City Intersections
“The pedestrian is comparable to a car traveling 15 mph on a stretch of I-5 with a 70 mph speed limit.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘pedestrian’.
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GRE 2014
abase, abate, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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bbc uk china vocab.
conservationists, estimate, threats, infertility, eating away at, endangered, furry, panel, in trouble, gongs, triumphed, caps and 1007 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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IMCO - EU nomenclature
includes words of the "Prodcom list"
abaca, abdominal, abrasive, absorbent, absorber, accelerator, accessory, account book, accumulator, acebutolol, acetaldehyde, acetamide and 4515 more...
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SAT Words
But only the ones that I don't already know.
abase, abash, abominate, abstruse, acclivity, accolade, accost, adroit, adulate, adulterate, adumbrate, affray and 241 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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501
Classic
bane, bilk, boor, elan, ado, toil, onus, aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august and 401 more...
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The Pain of Texting
Words that are a pain in the ass to type in on a numerical keypad on a cell phone because they have consecutive letters that share the same button:
2 - ABC
3 - DEF
4 - GHI...defcon, hi, no, attitude, xylophone, on, monday, monkey, mono, dig, back, babble and 212 more...
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pede-, ped-, -pede, -pedal, -pod, -po...
denoting or relating to feet ; of or like a foot
centipede, bipedal, pedometer, millipede, arthropod, quadrupedal, pedicure, pedal, pedopathy, tripod, monopod, pedatifid and 9 more...
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SAT words
tergiversate, cymotrichous, vigilance, wince, consternation, cower, neutralize, euphony, cacophony, misanthrope, bibliophile, kleptomania and 81 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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SAT Words
But only the ones that I don't already know.
abase, abash, abominate, abstruse, acclivity, accolade, accost, adroit, adulate, adulterate, adumbrate, affray and 241 more...
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My GRE Vocab
moniker, sobriquet, prerogative, aberration, aberrant, nuance, notorious, infamous, content, refer, allude, renown and 109 more...
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jeffreytwhitney's list
abecedarian, assonance, prolix, avuncular, baleful, borborygmus, accismus, atavism, catachresis, coruscant, callipygian, carbuncle and 117 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for pedestrian.

bilby Pedestrian power. Dec 14, 2007
bgreenlee "You're making Nestle Toll House cookies? How pedestrian." -- me, to my wife, after which I did not get any cookies. Sep 14, 2007