pave /peɪv/ BrE AmE verb [transitive usually passive]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: paver , from Latin pavire 'to hit, press down with the foot' ]
1 . to cover a path, road, area etc with a hard level surface such as blocks of stone or ↑ concrete
pave with
The city centre streets are paved with dark local stone.
a paved courtyard
2 . pave the way for something to make a later event or development possible by producing the right conditions:
The Supreme Court decision paved the way for further legislation on civil rights.
3 . the streets are paved with gold used to say that it is easy to become rich quickly in a particular place