jaywalked; jaywalking; jaywalks
: to cross a street carelessly or in an illegal manner so as to be endangered by traffic
jaywalker
noun
Examples of jaywalk in a Sentence
The police officer warned us not to jaywalk.
Recent Examples on the Web
Banks wouldn’t lend, police used crimes such as jaywalking to arrest, schools failed to teach.
—
Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024
Driverless passenger cars have caused chaos in cities like San Francisco, including one horrific accident last year when a robotaxi hit a jaywalking pedestrian and dragged her about 20 feet.
—Trisha Thadani, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2024
And in October, the California Department of Motor Vehicles suspended permits for driverless car company Cruise after one of its cars dragged a jaywalking pedestrian about 20 feet after she had been hit by a regular car.
—Jeremy B. Merrill, Washington Post, 10 Dec. 2023
Almost no one is arrested for jaywalking, of course.
—Adam Liptak, New York Times, 6 Nov. 2023
In October, 1991, he was stopped by the police for jaywalking in downtown Oakland.
—Hua Hsu, The New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2023
Portland police later stopped Cummins for jaywalking near Southwest Broadway and Oak Street Aug. 30.
—Austindedios, oregonlive, 14 Sep. 2023
The reasons to revoke jaywalking laws are similar, Volland said.
—Emily Goodykoontz, Anchorage Daily News, 5 Aug. 2023
The ordinance would decriminalize jaywalking for pedestrians.
—Emily Goodykoontz, Anchorage Daily News, 5 Aug. 2023
Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024
Driverless passenger cars have caused chaos in cities like San Francisco, including one horrific accident last year when a robotaxi hit a jaywalking pedestrian and dragged her about 20 feet.
—Trisha Thadani, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2024
And in October, the California Department of Motor Vehicles suspended permits for driverless car company Cruise after one of its cars dragged a jaywalking pedestrian about 20 feet after she had been hit by a regular car.
—Jeremy B. Merrill, Washington Post, 10 Dec. 2023
Almost no one is arrested for jaywalking, of course.
—Adam Liptak, New York Times, 6 Nov. 2023
In October, 1991, he was stopped by the police for jaywalking in downtown Oakland.
—Hua Hsu, The New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2023
Portland police later stopped Cummins for jaywalking near Southwest Broadway and Oak Street Aug. 30.
—Austindedios, oregonlive, 14 Sep. 2023
The reasons to revoke jaywalking laws are similar, Volland said.
—Emily Goodykoontz, Anchorage Daily News, 5 Aug. 2023
The ordinance would decriminalize jaywalking for pedestrians.
—Emily Goodykoontz, Anchorage Daily News, 5 Aug. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'jaywalk.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Jaywalk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jaywalk. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
jaywalk
verb
jay·walk
ˈjā-ˌwȯk 
: to cross a street carelessly without paying attention to traffic regulations
jaywalker
noun
Legal Definition
jaywalk
intransitive verb
jay·walk
ˈjā-ˌwȯk
: to cross a street carelessly or in an illegal manner so as to be endangered by traffic
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