English Reference
Idiom idiom

walk the floor


To pace back and forth restlessly, because of worry, excitement, distress, etc.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

He walks the floor when he feels nervous.

CONTEXTUAL

She walked the floor all night while waiting for the important news from the hospital.

COMPLEX

Unable to find peace of mind, he walked the floor for hours, agonizing over the difficult decision he had to make by morning.


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

    floor it

    To depress the accelerator to the maximum extent.

  6. 06

    floor one could eat off

    An extremely clean floor.

  7. 07

    ground floor

    The initial stage of a project.

  8. 08

    have the floor

    To have permission or time to speak, especially in a formal situation.

Last updated August 10, 2026