Skip to main content
to walk around

to walk around

214 1.7
To go on foot in a place without a clear purpose, often for pleasure
  • phrasal verb
  • /wɔk əˈraʊnd/
translation icon : pasear
  • We had lunch Uptown and we walked around Central Park, which was nice.
  • walk around the room
  • people walk around
  • Sometimes I walk around

We had lunch Uptown and we walked around Central Park, which was nice.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • I just want to walk around, wander the streets.

  • We have finished breakfast and now we are walking around Little Italy.

  • If you go to that city, you can walk around and see those streets.

  • I park behind it, in my old space, and walk around the house.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • When they find it difficult to fall asleep, they get up and walk around in the dark.

    Academic text (2003)
  • So we're just walking around and exploring Pretty.

  • We had plenty of time to walk around and go on the rides before the fight.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • We went out into the schoolyard and walked around and talked with eight or nine women.

    Academic text (1998)
  • We asked the children with low vision to "walk around the block" in an unfamiliar residential area.

    Academic text (1997)
  • After lunch, we decided to walk around the neighborhood to enjoy the nice weather.

Synonyms

to wander
vsto walk around
379 1.3

Move around without a fixed direction, often slowly and in curves

is more about casual local passing time than broader roaming
to roam
vsto walk around
189 2.5

Move around without a fixed place, often while looking for something

is usually shorter casual movement rather than wider searching travel
to stroll
vsto walk around
122 1.8

To walk slowly and enjoy it

is more general about aimless movement rather than slow relaxation
to take a stroll
vsto walk around
14 2.0

To walk slowly and enjoy the fresh air

is more about passing time aimlessly than a short deliberate outing
to go walking
vsto walk around
12 1.0

To walk for pleasure or exercise

is mainly about casual aimless movement not purposeful exercise
to wander the streets
vsto walk around
11 2.9

To walk around a town or city without a clear purpose

is general aimless movement not limited to streets or long duration
to mill around
vsto walk around
  • Informal
9 3.7

Move around slowly in a place without any clear purpose, often in a group

is used for individual casual movement rather than crowd activity
to walk about
vsto walk around
  • UK
8 3.1

To move around a place on your feet without a clear purpose

is more about passing time locally not necessarily moving between places
to traipse
vsto walk around
8 7.6

To walk around without a clear plan, often slowly and without much energy

is more neutral and often implies relaxed leisure rather than low energy
to mill about
vsto walk around
7 5.3

To move around a place without a clear reason, often in a group

is more often solitary casual passing rather than group crowd movement
to stroll along
vsto walk around
5 2.6

To walk slowly for pleasure along a street or riverside

is less tied to a route and focuses on aimless movement
to putter around
vsto walk around
  • Informal
5 6.5

To spend time doing small, not important tasks slowly without a clear plan

is more focused on casual movement to pass time rather than idle tinkering
to traipse around
vsto walk around
  • Informal
4 6.9

To walk around without a clear purpose

is more neutral and may lack the casual or sloppy tone
to traipse through
vsto walk around
  • Informal
3 6.8

To walk slowly through a place without a clear purpose

is broader and not limited to moving through specific places
to gad about
vsto walk around
  • UK
3 9.0

To move around places for pleasure without a plan

is often quieter local movement rather than moving between many places
to go walkabout
vsto walk around
  • UK
2 8.2

To travel without a set plan to explore and think

is local leisure movement aimed at passing time not exploration
meander
vsto walk around
1 5.2

A slow, aimless walk that follows a curving path

is about aimless movement generally rather than specifically winding routes
to perambulate
vsto walk around
1 9.7

To walk around without a clear destination for pleasure

is more about casual local movement than broader travel
to potter around
vsto walk around
  • UK
1 6.5

To move around slowly doing small jobs in no hurry

is mainly about simple movement for passing time rather than doing small tasks
to circumambulate
vsto walk around
  • Formal
1 9.9

To walk all the way around something, often as part of a religious ceremony

is general aimless movement not tied to circling or ritual purpose
to perambulating
vsto walk around
8.2

To walk slowly without a clear purpose

is used more generally for casual movement to pass time
to trapes around
vsto walk around
9.6

Walk around slowly without a plan

is more focused on casual passing time rather than drifting emphasis
to tootle around
vsto walk around
  • UK
8.4

To travel slowly without a clear plan

is more local casual movement than broader travel implication
to jazz around
vsto walk around
  • Archaic
9.3

Move around without a plan to have fun

is neutral leisure movement rather than seeking fun or entertainment

Antonyms

1.0

Move from standing into a chair or onto the ground

Not move from a place

How Leisurely

to saunter
18 5.5
to stroll
122 1.8
to walk around
214 1.7
to walk
1.0

Surface Forms

walk around infinitive
walked around past participle
walking around present participle
walks around third person singular

Morphology

walk + around

The meaning 'a leisurely or casual stroll' is directly derivable from combining 'walk' (to move on foot) with 'around' (in the vicinity/without a fixed destination); the particle 'around' signals movement in a general area rather than toward a goal. This compositional pattern is literal and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand the MWE.

Etymology

Walk around may come from the simple image of someone moving about a place with no fixed route, like strolling through a park to clear their head. So, the phrase means 'to walk in a place without a specific purpose'.