Meaning & use
a jaywalker
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A person who crosses a street carelessly or against the traffic rules.
Grammar: Countable, so use a/an or a plural: a jaywalker, two jaywalkers.
Patterns
- be a jaywalker
- stop a jaywalker
- a jaywalker crossing the road
The driver braked hard because a jaywalker stepped out between two parked cars.
Police at the corner were warning a jaywalker who had crossed against the red light.
She was called a jaywalker after running across the highway instead of using the footbridge.
Word forms
| plural | jaywalkers |
|---|
Common combinations
- a jaywalker steps out
- A jaywalker stepped out in front of the bus and the driver had to swerve.
- be fined as a jaywalker
- In some cities you can be fined as a jaywalker for crossing mid-block.
- a jaywalker crossing the street
- The camera caught a jaywalker crossing the street far from the crosswalk.
- hit by a car as a jaywalker
- He was hit by a car as a jaywalker and spent a week in hospital.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pedestrian
- This is the neutral word for anyone on foot; use it when you are not saying the person broke a rule.
- trespasser
- This means someone who enters private land without permission, so it fits only when the crossing itself is illegal trespass.
Word family
- jaywalk verb
- To cross a street carelessly or against the rules.
- jaywalking noun
- The act of crossing a street in that careless or illegal way.
Commonly confused: a jaywalker or jaywalker?
a jaywalker vs jaywalker
The spelling without "a" is the same word used without the article; "a jaywalker" is simply the singular form with the article in front.
Practice
Which sentence uses "a jaywalker" correctly?
Choose one answer.
A jaywalker is a person on foot who crosses carelessly or against the rules, so option A fits. Option B describes a speeding driver, option C a parking offense, and option D a cyclist, none of which is jaywalking.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a jaywalker”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.