Walk vs. Walking — What's the Difference?
By Urooj Arif & Maham Liaqat — Updated on April 8, 2024
"Walk" is a verb and noun describing the action or instance of moving on foot at a leisurely pace, while "walking" serves as the present participle of the verb (indicating the ongoing action) and a gerund (noun form).
Difference Between Walk and Walking
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Key Differences
"Walk" can function as both a verb and a noun, referring to the act of moving at a regular pace by lifting and setting down each foot in turn, never having both feet off the ground simultaneously. As a verb, it describes the action (e.g., "I walk to school"), and as a noun, it refers to an instance of walking (e.g., "I went for a walk"). On the other hand, "walking" is the present participle of the verb "walk," used to describe the action as it is happening (e.g., "I am walking to school") and also functions as a gerund, which is the noun form derived from the verb (e.g., "Walking is good for health").
While "walk" is used to describe the action in a general sense or to refer to a specific instance, "walking" emphasizes the ongoing nature of the action or the general activity. For example, "walk" can be used to give commands or discuss habits (e.g., "Walk faster"), whereas "walking" is often used when talking about the activity in a broader sense (e.g., "Walking quickly benefits your heart").
In terms of grammar, "walk" can be modified to fit different tenses and persons, adapting to various contexts within a sentence. "Walking," however, remains constant when used as a gerund or when forming continuous tenses, showing an action in progress. This distinction highlights the versatility of "walk" in comparison to the more specific applications of "walking."
The choice between "walk" and "walking" can alter the focus of a sentence. Using "walk" might concentrate on the action or event as a whole, while "walking" can bring attention to the process or experience of the action. This difference is particularly notable in descriptive writing or when conveying the nuances of an experience or activity.
Both "walk" and "walking" play crucial roles in language, enabling speakers to convey subtle differences in meaning, timeframe, and aspect of the action of walking. However, the choice between them depends on the grammatical structure of the sentence and the speaker's intent, demonstrating the rich flexibility of English in expressing nuances of action and state.
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Comparison Chart
Part of Speech
Verb (action), Noun (activity)
Present Participle (action), Gerund (noun form)
Usage
Describes an action or instance generally
Indicates ongoing action or activity as a concept
Example (as Verb)
"I walk to the park."
"I am walking to the park."
Example (as Noun)
"The walk to the park is pleasant."
"Walking is my favorite exercise."
Focus
On the action or instance of moving on foot
On the ongoing nature or general activity of walking
Grammatical Flexibility
Can be conjugated in different tenses
Used in continuous tenses or as a noun
Contextual Use
General action, commands, habits
Ongoing action, general activity, process
Compare with Definitions
Walk
(Noun) An act or instance of walking, especially for pleasure or exercise.
She took a long walk along the beach.
Walking
(Gerund/Noun) A reference to the mode of locomotion.
Walking instead of driving is more eco-friendly.
Walk
(Verb) To travel over by walking.
They plan to walk the entire trail by sunset.
Walking
(Present Participle) Used to form the continuous tense of the verb walk.
They are walking to the store now.
Walk
(Verb) To move at a regular pace by lifting and setting down each foot in turn.
I walk to work every day.
Walking
(Present Participle) Currently in the act of walking.
She was walking faster to catch up.
Walk
(Verb) To guide, accompany, or escort someone on foot.
He will walk you to your car.
Walking
(Gerund/Noun) Used to describe an activity or hobby.
Walking in the mountains is his new passion.
Walk
(Noun) A path or route for walking.
The scenic walk through the park is breathtaking.
Walking
(Gerund/Noun) The action of moving on foot.
Walking is an excellent form of exercise.
Walk
Move at a regular pace by lifting and setting down each foot in turn, never having both feet off the ground at once
She turned and walked a few paces
I walked across the lawn
Walking
Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits.
Walk
Guide, accompany, or escort (someone) on foot
He walked her home to her door
A meeting to walk parents through the complaint process
Walking
Able to walk, especially in spite of injury or illness.
Walk
(of a thing) go missing or be stolen
Customers have to leave a deposit to ensure the beer glasses don't walk
Walking
Regarded as having the capabilities or qualities of a specified object
A teacher who is a walking dictionary.
Walk
Abandon or suddenly withdraw from a job or commitment
He was in place as the male lead but walked at the eleventh hour
Walking
Used, intended, or suitable for walking
Walking clothes.
A walking trail.
Walking distance.
Walk
(of a batsman) leave the field without waiting to be given out by the umpire.
Walking
Marked by the act of walking
A walking trip.
Walk
Reach first base automatically after not hitting at four balls pitched outside the strike zone.
Walking
Guided by a person who walks alongside. Used of a machine or farming tool.
Walk
(of a ghost) be visible; appear
The ghosts of Bannockburn walked abroad
Walking
The action of one that walks.
Walk
Live or behave in a particular way
Walk humbly with your God
Walking
The state of the surface on which one walks
The walking was treacherous after the ice storm.
Walk
An act of travelling or an outing on foot
He was too restless to sleep, so he went out for a walk
Walking
Present participle of walk
Walk
A route recommended or marked out for recreational walking
There are picnic places and waymarked walks
Walking
Incarnate as a human; living.
Elizabeth knows so many words that they call her the walking dictionary.
Phil's mother is a walking miracle after surviving that accident.
Walk
An unhurried rate of movement on foot
They crossed the field at a leisurely walk
Walking
Able to walk in spite of injury or sickness.
Walk
A part of a forest under one keeper.
Walking
Characterized by or suitable for walking.
A walking tour
Good walking shoes
Walk
A farm where a hound puppy is trained.
Walking
Heavily characterized by some given quality.
She was a walking example of how fitness training can take you a long way.
Walk
An instance of reaching first base automatically after not hitting at four balls pitched outside the strike zone.
Walking
Gerund of walk.
Walk
A flock of snipe.
Walking
The act of traveling by foot;
Walking is a healthy form of exercise
Walk
To move over a surface by taking steps with the feet at a pace slower than a run
A baby learning to walk.
A horse walking around a riding ring.
Walking
Close enough to be walked to;
Walking distance
The factory with the big parking lot...is more convenient than the walk-to factory
Walk
To go or travel on foot
Walked to the store.
Walk
To go on foot for pleasure or exercise; stroll
Walked along the beach looking for shells.
Walk
To move in a manner suggestive of walking
Saw a woodpecker walking up the tree trunk.
Walk
To conduct oneself or behave in a particular manner; live
Walks in majesty and pride.
Walk
To appear as a supernatural being
The specter of famine walks through the land.
Walk
To go out on strike.
Walk
To resign from one's job abruptly; quit.
Walk
To be acquitted
The alleged killer walked.
Walk
(Baseball) To go to first base after the pitcher has thrown four pitches ruled as balls.
Walk
(Basketball) To move illegally while holding the ball; travel.
Walk
(Obsolete) To be in constant motion.
Walk
To go or pass over, on, or through by walking
Walk the financial district of a city.
Walk
To bring to a specified condition by walking
They walked me to exhaustion.
Walk
To cause to walk or proceed at a walk
Walk a horse uphill.
Walk
To accompany in walking; escort on foot
Walk the children home.
Walked me down the hall.
Walk
To traverse on foot in order to survey or measure; pace off
Walked the bounds of the property.
Walk
To move (a heavy or cumbersome object) in a manner suggestive of walking
Walked the bureau into the hall.
Walk
To allow (a batter) to go to first base by throwing four pitches ruled as balls.
Walk
To cause (a run) to score by walking a batter. Often used with in.
Walk
The gait of a human or other biped in which the feet are lifted alternately with one part of a foot always on the ground.
Walk
The gait of a quadruped in which at least two feet are always touching the ground, especially the gait of a horse in which the feet touch the ground in the four-beat sequence of near hind foot, near forefoot, off hind foot, off forefoot.
Walk
The self-controlled extravehicular movement in space of an astronaut.
Walk
The act or an instance of walking, especially a stroll for pleasure or exercise.
Walk
The rate at which one walks; a walking pace.
Walk
The characteristic way in which one walks.
Walk
The distance covered or to be covered in walking.
Walk
A place, such as a sidewalk or promenade, on which one may walk.
Walk
A route or circuit particularly suitable for walking
One of the prettiest walks in the area.
Walk
(Baseball) A base on balls.
Walk
(Basketball) The act or an instance of moving illegally with the ball; traveling.
Walk
A track event in which contestants compete in walking a specified distance.
Walk
Racewalking.
Walk
An enclosed area designated for the exercise or pasture of livestock.
Walk
An arrangement of trees or shrubs planted in widely spaced rows.
Walk
The space between such rows.
Walk
(intransitive) To move on the feet by alternately setting each foot (or pair or group of feet, in the case of animals with four or more feet) forward, with at least one foot on the ground at all times. Compare run.
To walk briskly for an hour every day is to keep fit.
Walk
To "walk free", i.e. to win, or avoid, a criminal court case, particularly when actually guilty.
If you can’t present a better case, that robber is going to walk.
Walk
Of an object, to go missing or be stolen.
If you leave your wallet lying around, it’s going to walk.
Walk
To walk off the field, as if given out, after the fielding side appeals and before the umpire has ruled; done as a matter of sportsmanship when the batsman believes he is out.
Walk
(transitive) To travel (a distance) by walking.
I walk two miles to school every day.
The museum’s not far from here – you can walk it.
Walk
(transitive) To take for a walk or accompany on a walk.
I walk the dog every morning.
Will you walk me home?
Walk
To allow a batter to reach base by pitching four balls.
Walk
(transitive) To move something by shifting between two positions, as if it were walking.
I carefully walked the ladder along the wall.
Walk
(transitive) To full; to beat cloth to give it the consistency of felt.
Walk
(transitive) To traverse by walking (or analogous gradual movement).
I walked the streets aimlessly.
Debugging this computer program involved walking the heap.
Walk
To operate the left and right throttles of (an aircraft) in alternation.
Walk
To leave, resign.
If we don't offer him more money he'll walk.
Walk
(transitive) To push (a vehicle) alongside oneself as one walks.
Walk
To behave; to pursue a course of life; to conduct oneself.
Walk
(obsolete) To be in motion; to act; to move.
Walk
To put, keep, or train (a puppy) in a walk, or training area for dogfighting.
Walk
To move a guest to another hotel if their confirmed reservation is not available on day of check-in.
Walk
A trip made by walking.
I take a walk every morning.
Walk
A distance walked.
It’s a long walk from my house to the library.
Walk
(sports) An Olympic Games track event requiring that the heel of the leading foot touch the ground before the toe of the trailing foot leaves the ground.
Walk
A manner of walking; a person's style of walking.
The Ministry of Silly Walks is underfunded this year.
Walk
A path, sidewalk/pavement or other maintained place on which to walk.
Walk
(figurative) A person's conduct or course in life.
Walk
(poker) A situation where all players fold to the big blind, as their first action (instead of calling or raising), once they get their cards.
Walk
(baseball) An award of first base to a batter following four balls being thrown by the pitcher; known in the rules as a "base on balls".
The pitcher now has two walks in this inning alone.
Walk
In coffee, coconut, and other plantations, the space between them.
Walk
An area of an estate planted with fruit-bearing trees.
Walk
(historical) A place for keeping and training puppies for dogfighting.
Walk
(historical) An enclosed area in which a gamecock is confined to prepare him for fighting.
Walk
(graph theory) A sequence of alternating vertices and edges, where each edge's endpoints are the preceding and following vertices in the sequence.
Walk
(colloquial) Something very easily accomplished; a walk in the park.
Walk
A cheque drawn on a bank that was not a member of the London Clearing and whose sort code was allocated on a one-off basis; they had to be "walked" (hand-delivered by messengers).
Walk
To move along on foot; to advance by steps; to go on at a moderate pace; specifically, of two-legged creatures, to proceed at a slower or faster rate, but without running, or lifting one foot entirely before the other touches the ground.
At the end of twelve months, he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon.
When Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
Walk
To move or go on the feet for exercise or amusement; to take one's exercise; to ramble.
Walk
To be in motion; to act; to move; to wag.
Do you think I'd walk in any plot?
I heard a pen walking in the chimney behind the cloth.
Walk
To behave; to pursue a course of life; to conduct one's self.
We walk perversely with God, and he will walk crookedly toward us.
Walk
To move off; to depart.
He will make their cows and garrans to walk.
Walk
To pass through, over, or upon; to traverse; to perambulate; as, to walk the streets.
As we walk our earthly round.
Walk
To cause to walk; to lead, drive, or ride with a slow pace; as, to walk one's horses; to walk the dog.
Walk
To subject, as cloth or yarn, to the fulling process; to full.
Walk
To put or keep (a puppy) in a walk; to train (puppies) in a walk.
Walk
To move in a manner likened to walking.
She walked a spinning wheel into the house, making it use first one and then the other of its own spindling legs to achieve progression rather than lifting it by main force.
Walk
The act of walking, or moving on the feet with a slow pace; advance without running or leaping.
Walk
The act of walking for recreation or exercise; as, a morning walk; an evening walk.
Walk
Manner of walking; gait; step; as, we often know a person at a distance by his walk.
Walk
That in or through which one walks; place or distance walked over; a place for walking; a path or avenue prepared for foot passengers, or for taking air and exercise; way; road; hence, a place or region in which animals may graze; place of wandering; range; as, a sheep walk.
A woody mountain . . . with goodliest treesPlanted, with walks and bowers.
He had walk for a hundred sheep.
Amid the sound of steps that beatThe murmuring walks like rain.
Walk
A frequented track; habitual place of action; sphere; as, the walk of the historian.
The mountains are his walks.
He opened a boundless walk for his imagination.
Walk
Conduct; course of action; behavior.
Walk
The route or district regularly served by a vender; as, a milkman's walk.
Walk
In coffee, coconut, and other plantations, the space between them.
Walk
A place for keeping and training puppies.
Walk
The act of traveling by foot;
Walking is a healthy form of exercise
Walk
(baseball) an advance to first base by a batter who receives four balls;
He worked the pitcher for a base on balls
Walk
Manner of walking;
He had a funny walk
Walk
The act of walking somewhere;
He took a walk after lunch
Walk
A path set aside for walking;
After the blizzard he shoveled the front walk
Walk
A slow gait of a horse in which two feet are always on the ground
Walk
Careers in general;
It happens in all walks of life
Walk
Use one's feet to advance; advance by steps;
Walk, don't run!
We walked instead of driving
She walks with a slight limp
The patient cannot walk yet
Walk over to the cabinet
Walk
Traverse or cover by walking;
Walk the tightrope
Paul walked the streets of Damascus
She walks 3 miles every day
Walk
Accompany or escort;
I'll walk you to your car
Walk
Obtain a base on balls
Walk
Live or behave in a specified manner;
Walk in sadness
Walk
Take a walk; go for a walk; walk for pleasure;
The lovers held hands while walking
We like to walk every Sunday
Walk
Give a base on balls to
Walk
Be or act in association with;
We must walk with our dispossessed brothers and sisters
Walk with God
Walk
Make walk;
He walks the horse up the mountain
Walk the dog twice a day
Walk
Walk at a pace;
The horsese walked across the meadow
Common Curiosities
What does "walk" mean?
"Walk" refers to the act of moving at a steady pace by lifting and setting down each foot in turn, and can be used both as a verb and a noun.
How is "walking" used differently from "walk"?
"Walking" is used to describe the ongoing action of moving on foot (as a present participle) or the general activity of walking (as a gerund or noun form).
Is "walking" always an action?
"Walking" can describe both the action in progress and the general activity or concept of walking when used as a gerund.
How do you use "walking" in a sentence?
As a present participle: "I am walking to the store." As a gerund: "Walking is beneficial to your health."
Can "walk" and "walking" be used interchangeably?
While they are related, "walk" and "walking" cannot always be used interchangeably due to their different grammatical roles and nuances in meaning.
What is the noun form of "walk"?
The noun form of "walk" refers to the act or instance of walking, such as "a walk in the park."
What is the gerund form of "walk"?
The gerund form of "walk" is "walking," which acts as a noun, referring to the activity or process of walking.
Is "walking" good for your health?
Yes, as an activity, "walking" is widely recognized for its health benefits, including improving cardiovascular health.
Can "walk" be used in commands?
Yes, "walk" can be used in imperative sentences to give commands, such as "Walk to the store."
How do you use "walk" in a sentence?
As a verb: "I walk every morning for health." As a noun: "The walk around the lake is beautiful."
What part of speech is "walk"?
"Walk" can be a verb (describing the action of moving on foot) or a noun (referring to the act or an instance of walking).
Can "walking" be used to describe a hobby?
Yes, "walking" can describe a hobby or preferred activity, emphasizing the enjoyment and regular practice of walking.
What tense is used with "walking"?
"Walking" is used in present continuous tense to describe actions happening at the moment of speaking, such as "I am walking."
How does context affect the use of "walk" and "walking"?
The choice between "walk" and "walking" depends on the grammatical structure and meaning intended in the sentence, with "walk" used for specific actions or instances and "walking" for ongoing activities or general discussion.
What part of speech is "walking"?
"Walking" can be a present participle (verb form used to describe the ongoing action) or a gerund (noun form indicating the activity).
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Written by
Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
Co-written by
Maham Liaqat
