wall
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wall
(wôl)n.
1. An upright structure of masonry, wood, plaster, or other building material serving to enclose, divide, or protect an area, especially a vertical construction forming an inner partition or exterior siding of a building.
2. often walls A continuous structure of masonry or other material forming a rampart and built for defensive purposes.
3. A structure of stonework, concrete, or other material built to retain a flow of water.
4.
a. Something resembling a wall in appearance, function, or construction, as the exterior surface of a body organ or part: the abdominal wall.
b. Something resembling a wall in impenetrability or strength: a wall of silence; a wall of fog.
c. An extreme or desperate condition or position, such as defeat or ruin: driven to the wall by poverty.
5. Sports The vertical surface of an ocean wave in surfing.
tr.v. walled, wall·ing, walls
Idioms: 1. To enclose, surround, or fortify with or as if with a wall: wall up an old window. See Synonyms at enclose.
2. To divide or separate with or as if with a wall. Often used with off: wall off half a room.
3. To confine or seal behind a wall; immure: "I determined to wall [the body] up in the cellar" (Edgar Allan Poe).
4. To block or close (an opening or passage, for example) with or as if with a wall.
off the wall Slang
1. Extremely unconventional.
2. Without foundation; ridiculous: an accusation that is really off the wall.
up the wall Slang
Into a state of extreme frustration, anger, or distress: tensions that are driving me up the wall.
writing/handwriting on the wall
An ominous indication of the course of future events: saw the writing on the wall and fled the country.
[Middle English, from Old English weall, from Latin vallum, palisade, from vallus, stake. Idiom, in reference to an incident in the Bible (Daniel 5) in which a hand writes mysterious words on the wall of Belshazzar's banquet hall and the prophet Daniel interprets them as predicting the king's downfall.]
wall′less adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
wall
(wɔːl)n
1. (Building)
a. 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
b. (as modifier): wall hangings. mural
2. (Fortifications) (often plural) a structure or rampart built to protect and surround a position or place for defensive purposes
3. (Anatomy) anatomy any lining, membrane, or investing part that encloses or bounds a bodily cavity or structure: abdominal wall. Technical name: paries
4. (Mountaineering) mountaineering a vertical or almost vertical smooth rock face
5. anything that suggests a wall in function or effect: a wall of fire; a wall of prejudice.
6. bang one's head against a brick wall to try to achieve something impossible
7. drive to the wall push to the wall to force into an awkward situation
8. drive up the wall slang to cause to become crazy or furious
9. (Banking & Finance) go to the wall to be ruined; collapse financially
10. go up the wall slang to become crazy or furious
11. have one's back to the wall to be in a very difficult situation
12. See off-the-wall
13. See wall-to-wall
vb (tr)
14. to protect, provide, or confine with or as if with a wall
15. (Building) (often foll by up) to block (an opening) with a wall
16. (Building) (often foll by: in or up) to seal by or within a wall or walls
[Old English weall, from Latin vallum palisade, from vallus stake]
walled adj
ˈwall-less adj
ˈwall-ˌlike adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
wall
(wɔl)n.
1. 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.
2. an immaterial or intangible barrier, obstruction, etc., suggesting a wall: a wall of prejudice.
3. a wall-like enclosing part, thing, mass, etc.: a wall of fire; a wall of troops.
4. an embankment to prevent flooding, as a levee or sea wall.
5. Usu., walls. a rampart raised for defensive purposes.
6. the outermost film or layer of structural material protecting, surrounding, and defining the physical limits of an object: the wall of a blood cell.
adj. 7. of or pertaining to a wall.
8. growing against or on a wall: wall plants.
9. situated or installed in or on a wall: a wall oven.
v.t. 10. to enclose, border, etc., with or as if with a wall (often fol. by in or off): to wall in the playground.
11. to seal or fill (a doorway or other opening) with a wall: to wall an unused entrance.
12. to seal or entomb (something or someone) within a wall; immure (usu. fol. by up).
Idioms: 1. climb the walls, Informal. to become tense or frantic.
2. go to the wall,
a. to be defeated; yield.
b. to fail in business; be forced into bankruptcy.
c. to risk one's own position to defend or protect another.
3. hit the wall, to reach a point in a long-distance race when the body's fuels are virtually depleted and willpower becomes crucial to the ability to finish.
4. off the wall, Slang.
a. unreasonable; crazy.
b. eccentric; bizarre.
5. up the wall, Informal. into a state of frantic frustration.
[before 900; Middle English; Old English w(e)all (c. Old Frisian, Old Saxon wal) < Latin vallum palisade, derivative of vallus stake, post]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
wall
- Comes from Latin vallum, "rampart."See also related terms for rampart.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
Wall
something that represents a wall in appearance.Examples: black wall of forest, 1859; wall of fog, 1903; of rock, 1860; of snow, 1697; of soldiers, 1797; of water, 1859.
Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
wall
Past participle: walled
Gerund: walling
| Imperative |
|---|
| wall |
| wall |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
wall
Line-up of defending players between the ball and the goal to block a free kick at goal. All opponents must be at least 29.5 ft from the ball.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  wall - an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure; "the south wall had a small window"; "the walls were covered with pictures"archway, arch - a passageway under a curved masonry construction; "they built a triumphal arch to memorialize their victory" attic - (architecture) a low wall at the top of the entablature; hides the roof bearing wall - any wall supporting a floor or the roof of a building building, edifice - a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place; "there was a three-story building on the corner"; "it was an imposing edifice" cavity wall - a wall formed of two thicknesses of masonry with a space between them chimney breast - walls that project out from the wall of a room and surround the chimney base doorway, room access, door, threshold - the entrance (the space in a wall) through which you enter or leave a room or building; the space that a door can close; "he stuck his head in the doorway" firewall - a fireproof (or fire-resistant) wall designed to prevent the spread of fire through a building or a vehicle hall, hallway - an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open; "the elevators were at the end of the hall" parapet - a low wall along the edge of a roof or balcony partition, divider - a vertical structure that divides or separates (as a wall divides one room from another) pier - (architecture) a vertical supporting structure (as a portion of wall between two doors or windows) proscenium wall, proscenium - the wall that separates the stage from the auditorium in a modern theater room - an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling; "the rooms were very small but they had a nice view" sidewall - a wall that forms the side of a structure dado, wainscot - panel forming the lower part of an interior wall when it is finished differently from the rest of the wall wainscoting, wainscotting - a wainscoted wall (or wainscoted walls collectively) wall panel - paneling that forms part of a wall |
| 2. |  wall - anything that suggests a wall in structure or function or effect; "a wall of water"; "a wall of smoke"; "a wall of prejudice"; "negotiations ran into a brick wall"object, physical object - a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow; "it was full of rackets, balls and other objects" footwall - the lower wall of an inclined fault hanging wall - the upper wall of an inclined fault | |
| 3. | wall - (anatomy) a layer (a lining or membrane) that encloses a structure; "stomach walls" abdominal wall - a wall of the abdomen anatomy, general anatomy - the branch of morphology that deals with the structure of animals stratum - one of several parallel layers of material arranged one on top of another (such as a layer of tissue or cells in an organism or a layer of sedimentary rock) | |
| 4. | wall - a difficult or awkward situation; "his back was to the wall"; "competition was pushing them to the wall" difficulty - a condition or state of affairs almost beyond one's ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome; "grappling with financial difficulties" | |
| 5. | wall - a vertical (or almost vertical) smooth rock face (as of a cave or mountain) cave - a geological formation consisting of an underground enclosure with access from the surface of the ground or from the sea geological formation, formation - (geology) the geological features of the earth | |
| 6. | wall - a layer of material that encloses space; "the walls of the cylinder were perforated"; "the container's walls were blue" | |
| 7. |  wall - a masonry fence (as around an estate or garden); "the wall followed the road"; "he ducked behind the garden wall and waited"party wall - a wall erected on the line between two properties and shared by both owners retaining wall - a wall that is built to resist lateral pressure (especially a wall built to prevent the advance of a mass of earth) | |
| 8. |  wall - an embankment built around a space for defensive purposes; "they stormed the ramparts of the city"; "they blew the trumpet and the walls came tumbling down"bailey - the outer defensive wall that surrounds the outer courtyard of a castle battlement, crenelation, crenellation - a rampart built around the top of a castle with regular gaps for firing arrows or guns earthwork - an earthen rampart embankment - a long artificial mound of stone or earth; built to hold back water or to support a road or as protection fortification, munition - defensive structure consisting of walls or mounds built around a stronghold to strengthen it fraise - sloping or horizontal rampart of pointed stakes merlon - a solid section between two crenels in a crenelated battlement | |
| Verb | 1. | wall - surround with a wall in order to fortify protect - shield from danger, injury, destruction, or damage; "Weatherbeater protects your roof from the rain" stockade - surround with a stockade in order to fortify circumvallate - surround with or as if with a rampart or other fortification |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
wall
noun
1. partition, divider, room divider, screen, panel, barrier, enclosure We're going to knock down the dividing wall to give us one big room.
2. barricade, rampart, fortification, bulwark, blockade, embankment, parapet, palisade, stockade, breastwork The Romans breached the city walls and captured the city.
3. barrier, obstacle, barricade, obstruction, check, bar, block, fence, impediment, hindrance I appealed for help but met the usual wall of silence.
drive someone up the wall (Informal) infuriate, madden, exasperate, get on your nerves (informal), anger, provoke, annoy, irritate, aggravate (informal), incense, enrage, gall, rile, drive you crazy (informal), nark (Brit., Austral., & N.Z. slang), be like a red rag to a bull, make your blood boil, get your goat (slang), drive you insane, make your hackles rise, raise your hackles, piss your off (taboo slang), send off your head (slang), get your back up, make you see red (informal), put your back up That tuneless humming of his drives me up the wall.
go to the wall (Informal) fail, close down, go under, go out of business, fall, crash, collapse, fold (informal), be ruined, go bust (informal), go bankrupt, go broke (informal), go into receivership, become insolvent Even big companies are going to the wall these days.
off the wall comical, eccentric, wacky (slang), oddball (informal), funny, out there (slang), crazy, loony (slang), nutty (slang), zany, madcap, goofy (informal), kooky (U.S. informal), clownish, wacko or whacko (informal) his particular brand of off-the-wall humour
wall someone up enclose, confine, detain, imprison, lock up, constrain, put away, incarcerate, jail He was walled up in a tiny cell and left to die.
wall something or someone in enclose, surround, bound, fence, hedge, encompass, encircle, encase, impound, pen in, circumscribe, hem in, shut in The garden is walled in to create a feeling of privacy.
wall something up close, block off or up, secure, seal, shut up They had walled up the room for fear of infection.
Related words
adjective mural
adjective mural
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
wall
nounverb
2. To confine within a limited area.In or up:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
جدارجِدارجِدار، سورحائِطيُحيط بِجِدار
zeďbariérahradbastěna
murvæg=-mur
seinämuuriruostepapurikko
zid
falfallal körülvesz
veggurveggur, múrgirîa afmúrmúra
壁城壁
벽
murusvallum
apjuostas sienaaptvertasbūti priremtam prie sienosiš protoišklijuoti apmušalais
sienauzcelt/uzmūrēt sienumūris
múrohradiť/obohnať múrom
zidstena
väggmur
กำแพง
bức tường
wall
[wɔːl]A. N
1. (interior, Anat) → pared f; (outside) → muro m; [of city] → muralla f; (= garden wall) → tapia f
the Great Wall of China → la Gran Muralla China
the north wall of the Eiger → la pared norte del Eiger
to come up against a brick wall → tener por delante una barrera infranqueable
talking to him is like talking to a brick wall → hablar con él es como hablar a la pared
to do sth off the wall (esp US) → hacer algo espontáneamente or de improviso
to climb or crawl up the walls (from boredom, frustration) → subirse por las paredes
it drives me up the wall → me saca de quicio
to go up the wall (= get angry) → ponerse furioso
to go to the wall [firm] → ir a la bancarrota, quebrar
walls have ears → las paredes oyen
the Great Wall of China → la Gran Muralla China
the north wall of the Eiger → la pared norte del Eiger
to come up against a brick wall → tener por delante una barrera infranqueable
talking to him is like talking to a brick wall → hablar con él es como hablar a la pared
to do sth off the wall (esp US) → hacer algo espontáneamente or de improviso
to climb or crawl up the walls (from boredom, frustration) → subirse por las paredes
it drives me up the wall → me saca de quicio
to go up the wall (= get angry) → ponerse furioso
to go to the wall [firm] → ir a la bancarrota, quebrar
walls have ears → las paredes oyen
2. (Sport) [of players] → barrera f
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
wall
[ˈwɔːl] n [building] → mur m
There was a picture on the wall → Il y avait une photo sur le mur.
the bedroom walls → les murs de la chambre
There was a picture on the wall → Il y avait une photo sur le mur.
the bedroom walls → les murs de la chambre
[tunnel, cave] → paroi f
[stomach, chest, organ] → paroi f
to be climbing the walls → être dans tous ses états
[+ garden] → enclore
[+ person] → emmurer
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
wall
n
(outside) → Mauer f; (inside, of mountain) → Wand f; the Great Wall of China → die Chinesische Mauer; the north wall of the Eiger → die Eigernordwand; a wall of fire → eine Feuerwand; a wall of policemen/troops → eine Mauer von Polizisten/Soldaten; walls have ears → die Wände haben Ohren; to come up against a wall of silence → auf eine Mauer des Schweigens stoßen; to go up the wall (inf) → die Wände rauf- or hochgehen (inf); I’m climbing the walls (inf) → ich könnte die Wände hochgehen (inf); he/his questions drive me up the wall (inf) → er/seine Fragerei bringt mich auf die Palme (inf); this constant noise is driving me up the wall (inf) → bei diesem ständigen Lärm könnte ich die Wände rauf- or hochgehen (inf); to go to the wall (inf: firm etc) → kaputtgehen (inf) ? brick wall, back
wall
:wall anchor
n (US) → Dübel m
wall bars
pl → Sprossenwand f
wallboard
n (US) → Sperrholz nt
wall cabinet
n → Wandschrank m
wall chart
n → Plantafel f
wall clock
n → Wanduhr f
wall covering
n → Wandbekleidung f
wall cupboard
n → Wandschrank m
wall
:wallflower
n (Bot) → Goldlack m; (fig inf) → Mauerblümchen nt (inf)
wall hanging
n → Wandbehang m, → Wandteppich m
wall lamp
n → Wandleuchte f
wall map
n → Wandkarte f
wall of death
n → Todeswand f
wall
:wall painting
n → Wandmalerei f
wallpaper
n → Tapete f; (Comput) → Hintergrundbild nt
vt → tapezieren
wall pass
n (Ftbl) → Doppelpass m
wall safe
n → Wandsafe m
wall socket
n → Steckdose f
Wall Street
n → Wall Street f
wall-to-wall
adj wall carpeting → Teppichboden m; his apartment is just about wall stereo equipment → seine Wohnung ist fast eine einzige Stereoanlage; what a bar! wall punks → was für eine Bar! randvoll mit Punks; the event got wall coverage (in the media) → über das Ereignis wurde (in den Medien) umfassend berichtet
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
wall
[wɔːl]1. n (internal, of tunnel, cave) → muro, parete f; (outside) → muro (Anat) → parete; (of tyre) → fianco (fig) (of smoke) → cortina
the Berlin Wall → il muro di Berlino
the Great Wall of China → la Grande Muraglia Cinese
the city walls → le mura della città
it drives me up the wall (fam) → mi fa uscire dai gangheri
to go to the wall (fig) (firm) → andare a rotoli or in rovina
walls have ears (fam) → anche i muri hanno orecchi
the Berlin Wall → il muro di Berlino
the Great Wall of China → la Grande Muraglia Cinese
the city walls → le mura della città
it drives me up the wall (fam) → mi fa uscire dai gangheri
to go to the wall (fig) (firm) → andare a rotoli or in rovina
walls have ears (fam) → anche i muri hanno orecchi
2. adj (clock) → a muro
wall in vt + adv (garden) → circondare con un muro
wall up vt + adv (entrance) → murare
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
wall
(woːl) noun1. something built of stone, brick, plaster, wood etc and used to separate off or enclose something. There's a wall at the bottom of the garden: The Great Wall of China; a garden wall.
2. any of the sides of a building or room. One wall of the room is yellow – the rest are white.
verb (often with in) to enclose (something) with a wall. We've walled in the playground to prevent the children getting out.
walled adjectivea walled city.
-walled having (a certain type or number of) wall(s). a high-walled garden.
ˈwallpaper noun paper used to decorate interior walls of houses etc. My wife wants to put wallpaper on the walls but I would rather paint them.
verb to put such paper on. I have wallpapered the front room.
ˌwall-to-ˈwall adjective (of a carpet etc) covering the entire floor of a room etc.
have one's back to the wall to be in a desperate situation. The army in the south have their backs to the wall, and are fighting a losing battle.
up the wall crazy. This business is sending/driving me up the wall!
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
wall
→ جِدار zeď mur Mauer τοίχος pared seinä mur zid muro 壁 벽 muur vegg ściana parede стена vägg กำแพง duvar bức tường 墙壁Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
wall
n. pared; tabique;
___ tooth → diente molar.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
wall
n pared f; abdominal — pared abdominal; chest — pared torácicaEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.