any of various permanent upright constructions having a length much greater than the thickness and presenting a continuous surface except where pierced by doors, windows, etc.: used for shelter, protection, or privacy, or to subdivide interior space, to support floors, roofs, or the like, to retain earth, to fence in an area, etc.
Usually walls.a rampart raised for defensive purposes.
an immaterial or intangible barrier, obstruction, etc., suggesting a wall: a wall of prejudice.
a wall-like, enclosing part, thing, mass, etc.: a wall of fire; a wall of troops.
an embankment to prevent flooding, as a levee or sea wall.
the outermost film or layer of structural material protecting, surrounding, and defining the physical limits of an object: the wall of a blood cell.
Soccer. a line of defenders standing shoulder to shoulder in an attempt to block a free kick with their bodies.
Mining.
the side of a level or drift.
the overhanging or underlying side of a vein; a hanging wall or footwall.
adjective
of or relating to a wall: wall space.
growing against or on a wall: wall plants; wall cress.
situated, placed, or installed in or on a wall: wall oven; a wall safe.
verb (used with object)
to enclose, shut off, divide, protect, border, etc., with or as if with a wall (often followed by in or off): to wall the yard; to wall in the play area; He is walled in by lack of opportunity.
to seal or fill (a doorway or other opening) with a wall: to wall an unused entrance.
to seal or entomb (something or someone) within a wall (usually followed by up): The workmen had walled up the cat quite by mistake.
Idioms for wall
climb (the) walls, Slang. to become tense or frantic: climbing the walls with boredom.
drive / push to the wall, to force into a desperate situation; humiliate or ruin completely: Not content with merely winning the match, they used every opportunity to push the inferior team to the wall.
go over the wall, Slang. to break out of prison: Roadblocks have been set up in an effort to capture several convicts who went over the wall.
go to the wall,
to be defeated in a conflict or competition; yield.
to fail in business, especially to become bankrupt.
to be put aside or forgotten.
to take an extreme and determined position or measure: I'd go to the wall to stop him from resigning.
hit the wall, (of long-distance runners) to reach a point in a race, usually after 20 miles, when the body's fuels are virtually depleted and willpower becomes crucial to be able to finish.
off the wall, Slang.
beyond the realm of acceptability or reasonableness: The figure you quoted for doing the work is off the wall.
markedly out of the ordinary; eccentric; bizarre: Some of the clothes in the fashion show were too off the wall for the average customer.
up against the wall,
placed against a wall to be executed by a firing squad.
in a crucial or critical position, especially one in which defeat or failure seems imminent: Unless sales improve next month, the company will be up against the wall.
up the wall, Slang. into an acutely frantic, frustrated, or irritated state: The constant tension in the office is driving everyone up the wall.
Origin of wall
before 900; (noun) Middle English; Old English w(e)all<Latin vallum palisade, derivative of vallus stake, post; see wale1; (v.) Middle English, derivative of the noun
Mount them on the wall in your kiddo’s bedroom, or build a backyard climbing wall like this one.
A 15-Week Exercise Plan for Kids and Families|Krista Langlois|September 12, 2020|Outside Online
Drone imagery alone can’t establish whether rituals occurred at the buried earthwork or if, perhaps, non-combatants hid behind walls along its borders when the site was attacked.
Drones find signs of a Native American ‘Great Settlement’ beneath a Kansas pasture|Bruce Bower|September 10, 2020|Science News
This universal wall offers a lifetime’s worth of routes, from V4 to V14, on an eight-by-twelve-foot surface.
The Most Futuristic Workout Gear of 2020|Hayden Carpenter|September 5, 2020|Outside Online
Recently, the actor let down his walls a bit to tell the story of how he met his wife, Tomasina Tate, 20 years ago—a fate made possible by fellow actor Jamie Foxx.
Larenz Tate Reveals How Jamie Foxx Helped Him Meet His Wife Tomasina|Hope Wright|September 4, 2020|Essence.com
Ocean Spray isn’t the only legacy brand looking to build out new brands within its walls.
‘We have to be open to failure’: Why Ocean Spray launched a brand incubator for the DTC era|Kristina Monllos|September 1, 2020|Digiday
A Wall Street person should not be allowed to help oversee the Dodd-Frank reforms.
Antonio Weiss Is Not Part of the Problem|Steve Rattner|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It reminded me a bit of an alternative take on The Wolf of Wall Street—through the Toni and Candace lens.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The Wolf of Wall Street is a dangerous, incendiary work of art.
Coffee Talk with Ethan Hawke: On ‘Boyhood,’ Jennifer Lawrence, and Bill Clinton’s Urinal Exchange|Marlow Stern|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“It is not about Crimea, the West wants our skins hanging on the wall,” he said.
After His Disastrous Annual Press Conference, Putin Needs A Hug|Anna Nemtsova|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Is it on the side of the people or Wall Street and the big banks?
‘Cromnibus’ Passes, But Did Anyone Win?|Ben Jacobs|December 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One by the gate, one against the wall at the other end, and two at each of the long sides of the inclosure.
Rujub, the Juggler|G. A. Henty
Her father released her, took out his pocket handkerchief, and sat down on the stairs with his head against the wall.
Bleak House|Charles Dickens
This was hoisted up bodily and placed on an auctioneer's platform which Mike had found tilted back against the wall in the cellar.
Felix O'Day|F. Hopkinson Smith
Tiny finger prints on the wall spoke of little prisoners trying to feel their way to sun and air.
The Four Million|O. Henry
Mr. Force got up, took an overcoat from a hook on the wall and hung it against the door.
Her Mother's Secret|Emma D. E. N. Southworth
British Dictionary definitions for wall
wall
/ (wɔːl) /
noun
a vertical construction made of stone, brick, wood, etc, with a length and height much greater than its thickness, used to enclose, divide, or support
(as modifier)wall hangings Related adjective: mural
(often plural)a structure or rampart built to protect and surround a position or place for defensive purposes
anatomyany lining, membrane, or investing part that encloses or bounds a bodily cavity or structureabdominal wall Technical name: paries Related adjective: parietal
mountaineeringa vertical or almost vertical smooth rock face
anything that suggests a wall in function or effecta wall of fire; a wall of prejudice
bang one's head against a brick wallto try to achieve something impossible
drive to the wallorpush to the wallto force into an awkward situation
go to the wallto be ruined; collapse financially
drive up the wallslangto cause to become crazy or furious
go up the wallslangto become crazy or furious
have one's back to the wallto be in a very difficult situation
See off-the-wall
See wall-to-wall
verb(tr)
to protect, provide, or confine with or as if with a wall
(often foll by up)to block (an opening) with a wall
(often foll by in or up) to seal by or within a wall or walls