ENGLISH
REFERENCE

walk on

idiom
Meaning

To join a college sports team without being recruited for it.


Examples
SIMPLE

He hopes to walk on to the basketball team this year.

CONTEXTUAL

Because he was not recruited in high school, he decided to walk on to the university football team.

COMPLEX

Despite the intense competition for roster spots, the determined athlete successfully managed to walk on to the varsity soccer team after a grueling tryout process.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    ball and Chalk

    [Cockney slang]walk

  2. 02

    cake walk

    Something extremely easy.

  3. 03

    cock of the walk

    A proud or conceited person.

  4. 04

    crawl before one walks

    To learn the basics before doing something at a more advanced level.

  5. 05

    in a walk

    Easily; without difficulty.

  6. 06

    learn to walk before one can run

    Before one can perform a complicated task, one has to learn how to perform more simple tasks.

  7. 07

    perp walk

    The intentional public display before news cameras of a person in police custody, especially someone famous or notorious, for the purpose of satisfying public interest, demonstrating the effectiveness of the authorities, or shaming the person.

  8. 08

    take a long walk on a short pier

    Used to tell someone to go away, or that their request will not be met.

Last updated April 17, 2026