walk-up meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

walk-up

adj

/ˈwɔkʌp/

Etymology Deverbal from walk up. (northern flicker): Imitative of the bird's call.

Of an apartment etc Reached by stairs rather than an elevator.

Of a block of apartments Containing such flats.

Of a service For which no appointment is necessary.

noun

Etymology Deverbal from walk up. (northern flicker): Imitative of the bird's call.

7 senses

US An apartment or block with stairs rather than an elevator.

I became the tenant of a walk-up on East Tenth Street, on the north side of Tompkins Square, found for me by the seemingly omni-connected Ian McEwan […]2010, Christopher Hitchens, Hitch-22, Atlantic, published 2011, page 228:
They took a cab and climbed the four flights to Sasha's Lower East Side walk-up.2010, Jennifer Egan, “Found Objects”, in A Visit from the Goon Squad:

Aeronautics, Aerospace, Aviation, Business, Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences An informal visit to a control tower by a pilot, typically used as part of pilot training.

Pilot walk-ups welcomed for real-time satellite and radar weather imaging information.1993, Flying Magazine, volume 120, number 10, page 33:

A mountain that can be climbed without specialist equipment.

Western mountains are easy walk-ups. Eastern mountains are hard crawl-ups, but no oxygen problems.2009, Richard Norgaard, Controlling Your Future: Six Steps To A Better Life, page 97:

A customer who arrives without a reservation; a walk-in.

The first hour is for walk-ups only, with one foursome per hour reserved for walk-ups as well.2015, Paul Laubach, Confessions of a Golfaholic, page 205:

An indoor or outdoor stand where food is sold to the public.

Soba is […] making appearances everywhere from street food walk-ups to fine dining restaurants.2021, Katie Takayasu, Plants First, page 266:

Colaptes auratus, northern flicker.

Entertainment, Lifestyle, Music A sequence of notes that raises in pitch stepwise, connecting two or more chords.

Especially bass