walk the streets

phrase

1
: to walk in a city
People don't feel safe walking the streets at night.
My wife was away and it was the middle of winter, and I remember getting home and I'd lost my keys. I had to walk the streets with my daughter screaming in the cold.Josh Widdecombe, quoted in The Independent (London)
2
: to find customers as a sex worker by walking around in the streets
… the girl said she was being held against her will in a hotel room and forced "to walk the streets and perform sex acts for money," investigators said in court records.Nate Gartrell

Examples of walk the streets in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Nahuel Meneghini, 33, walks the streets of the capital’s city center with the dogs wearing the team’s jerseys, leashes and collars in support of Lionel Messi ’s squad. ABC News, 3 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1530, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of walk the streets was in 1530

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Cite this Entry

“Walk the streets.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/walk%20the%20streets. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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