Although many contest the authenticity of the term, the walk of shame in much of the western world, usually refers to a phenomenon in which a person must walk past strangers or peers alone for an embarrassing reason before reaching a place of privacy. Most commonly, it occurs the morning after a night out at a bar, dance club, or party. People undertaking the walk of shame are understood to have spent the night at the house, apartment, or dorm of a sexual partner (or perceived sexual partner), particularly a one night stand.

Due to this, he or she can be recognized by the fact that he or she is still wearing the clothes that he or she wore the night before, has disheveled "bed head" hair or "sex hair." He or she may also smell like cigarettes and/or alcohol, and may suffer from a hangover due to excessive alcohol or drug intake from the previous night. A woman might have smudged makeup on her face. Particularly embarrassing is the post-Halloween Walk of Shame where people head home still wearing their costumes from the night before.

In the television programs The Weakest Link and Survivor, the walk of shame is the walk from the podium or Tribal Council, to an area offstage, where the contestant gives his or her final thoughts. In football (soccer), the walk of shame refers to when a player gets a red card, which is a suspension from the game. The walk they take off the field and out of the stadium is referred to the walk of shame due to the embarrassment they must endure as they are banned from the game.

In poker when a player is eliminated they often refer to it as the walk of shame.

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