[peyv-muh
nt] 
| 1. | a paved road, highway, etc. |
| 2. | a paved surface, ground covering, or floor. |
| 3. | a material used for paving. |
| 4. | Atlantic States and British. sidewalk. |
| 5. | pound the pavement, Informal. to walk the streets in order to accomplish something: If you're going to find work you'd better start pounding the pavement. |
| pound 2 (pound) v. pound·ed, pound·ing, pounds v. tr.
[Middle English pounden, alteration of pounen, from Old English pūnian.] pound'er n. |
pound the pavement
Walk the streets, especially in search of employment. For example, He was fired last year and he's been pounding the pavement ever since. A similar usage is pound a beat, meaning "to walk a particular route over and over"; it is nearly always applied to a police officer. [Early 1900s]