Word.ws English Dictionary

wall

/wɔːl/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

British/woːl/

wall noun: a rampart of earth, stones etc. built up for defensive purposes. Also the pronunciation spelling of well.

wall: a rampart of earth, stones etc. built up for defensive purposes
Image: Jacek Halicki, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

wall (plural walls)

  1. A rampart of earth, stones etc. built up for defensive purposes.
    Synonyms:
    rampart
  2. A structure built for defense surrounding a city, castle etc.
    • The town wall was surrounded by a moat.
    • From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away.2013 June 8, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52
  3. Each of the substantial structures acting either as the exterior of or divisions within a structure.
    • We're adding another wall in this room during the remodeling. The wind blew against the walls of the tent.
    • […] St. Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London. Close-packed, crushed by the buttressed height of the railway viaduct, rendered airless by huge walls of factories, it at once banished lively interest from a stranger's mind...1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter VII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC
  4. A point of desperation.
  5. A point of defeat or extinction.
    • They want Abramovich out for obvious reasons, including the optics, and they do not want to send Chelsea to the wall as they consider the club to be of cultural significance to the country.March 11 2022, David Hytner, “Chelsea are in crisis but there is no will to leave club on their knees”, in The Guardian
  6. An impediment to free movement.
    • A wall of police officers met the protesters before they reached the capitol steps.
  7. The butterfly Lasiommata megera.
    • Researchers found that 15 of 17 species which commonly live on farmland – including the small tortoiseshell, small skipper and wall butterfly – show declines associated with increasing neonic use.2015 November 24, Patrick Barkham, “Pesticide may be reason butterfly numbers are falling in UK, says study”, in The Guardian
    Synonyms:
    wall brown
  8. (in-compounds, often) A barrier.
    • a seawall; a firewall
  9. Something with the apparent solidity, opacity, or dimensions of a building wall.
    • a wall of sound; a wall of water; a wall of smoke obscured their view of enemy forces
  10. (figuratively) A means of defence or security.
    • I built a wall between myself and the bullies.
  11. One of the vertical sides of a container.
    • The extraordinary thinness of the walls of these vases, which reminds us of the finest china, or even of Venetian glass1907, Ronald M. Burrows, The Discoveries In Crete, page 60
  12. A dividing or containing structure in an organ or cavity.
    • There is definitely some sort of lump on the back wall of my throat (right side).1982 April 24, Matthew Ross, “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, page 15
    • The epidermal cells of the capsule wall of Jubulopsis, with nodose "trigones" at the angles, are very reminiscent of what one finds in Frullania spp.1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, pages 4-5
    Synonyms:
    paries
Show 11 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. A fictional bidder used to increase the price at an auction.
    Synonyms:
    chandelier
  2. (US, slang) A doctor who tries to admit as few patients as possible.
    Antonyms:
    sieve
  3. A line of defenders set up between an opposing free-kick taker and the goal.
    • Blackburn were the recipients of another dose of fortune when from another Thomas pass Odemwingie was brought down by Jones inside the penalty area, but referee Mark Clattenburg awarded a free-kick which Chris Brunt slammed into the wall.2011 January 23, Alistair Magowan, “Blackburn 2-0 West Brom”, in BBC
  4. (roller derby) Two or more blockers skating together so as to impede the opposing team.
    • It can also be used to maintain the presence of a wall when one of the blockers who makes up the wall is picked off by an opposing blocker attempting to shut down the wall.2013, Ellen Parnavelas, The Roller Derby Athlete, page 48
  5. Any of the surfaces of rock enclosing the lode.
  6. (Internet) A personal notice board listing messages of interest to a particular user.
    Synonyms:
    profile
  7. (roleplaying games) A character that has high defenses, thereby reducing the amount of damage taken from the opponent’s attacks.
  8. Face-down tiles arranged in stacked rows from which players draw new tiles.
  9. (definite, slang) The stage of biological aging where physical appearance and attractiveness start to deteriorate rapidly.
    • Depreciation of assets happens. Prepare yourself
      Marla. Get ready for the wall.1996 December 27, “The Definitive Answer to "Why Nice Guys Finish Last"”, in alt.romance (Usenet)
    • At what age would you peg the
      'wall' to be for men, on or thereabouts?2001 February 2, “what a drag it is getting old”, in soc.singles (Usenet)
  10. (historical) The right or privilege of taking the side of the road near the wall when encountering another pedestrian; said to be taken or given.
    • He related to me the following minute anecdote of this period: 'In the last age, when my mother lived in London, there were two sets of people, those who gave the wall, and those who took it; the peaceable and the quarrelsome. […] Now it is fixed that every man keeps to the right; or, if one is...1791, James Boswell, Life of Johnson
    • All persons, in walking the streets, whose right sides are next the wall, are intitled to take the wall.1822, The Pamphleteer, page 118
  11. A very steep slope.

Verb (1)

wall (third-person singular simple present walls, present participle walling, simple past and past participle walled)

  1. (transitive) To enclose with, or as if with, a wall or walls.
    • He walled the study with books.
  2. (slang) To use a wallhack.
  3. (slang, transitive) To wallbang.
    • I walled her. She's low [health].

Verb (2)

wall (third-person singular simple present walls, present participle walling, simple past and past participle walled)

  1. To boil.
  2. To well, as water; spring.

Noun (2)

wall (plural walls)

  1. (dialectal) A spring of water.

Noun (3)

wall (plural walls)

  1. A kind of knot often used at the end of a rope; a wall knot or wale.

Verb (3)

wall (third-person singular simple present walls, present participle walling, simple past and past participle walled)

  1. (transitive) To make a wall knot on the end of (a rope).

Proper noun (1) capitalized: Wall

Wall (countable and uncountable, plural Walls)

  1. A surname.
    • Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Wall taught karate at a local nursing home.2020 June 10, Ashley Vaughan, “This teenage martial artist creates videos to help superhero seniors stay active while in quarantine”, in CNN
  2. A village in Gwinear-Gwithian parish, south-west Cornwall (OS grid ref SW6036).
  3. A village and civil parish in south Northumberland (OS grid ref NY9169); part of Hadrian's Wall is in the parish.
  4. A village and civil parish in the City of Lichfield district, Staffordshire (OS grid ref SK0906).
  5. A township in Monmouth County, New Jersey.
    • The new yearbooks at Wall Township High School in Wall, New Jersey – with the original, unaltered photos – will be available for students to pick up in about two weeks, Cheryl Dyer, the superintendent of Wall Township schools, said in a letter to students and parents.2017 June 16, Doug Criss and Ellie Kaufman, “School issues new yearbooks after Trump’s name is removed from photos”, in CNN
  6. A borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
  7. A town in Pennington County, South Dakota.
  8. An unincorporated community in Tom Green County, Texas.

Proper noun (2) capitalized: Wall

the Wall

  1. (slang) The Berlin Wall.
  2. (slang) The Trump Wall.
  3. (slang) The Great Wall of China.

Proper noun (3) capitalized: Wall

Wall

  1. A Chinese constellation located near Pegasus and Andromeda, one of the 28 lunar mansions and part of the larger Black Turtle.

Proper noun (4) capitalized: Wall

Wall

  1. A diminutive of the male given names Waldo, Walter, Wallabee, and Wallace.

Also used as

wall is also the pronunciation spelling of well.

wall meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

wall in Hindi

defensive rampart
दीवार dīvār, बाधा bādhā, रुकावट rukāvaṭ, भीत bhīt
structure built for defense surrounding an area
दीवार dīvār, बाधा bādhā, प्राकार prākār, भीत bhīt
substantial structure acting as side or division in a building
दीवार dīvār, भीत bhīt
impediment to free movement — see also barrier
घेराव gherāv

wall in Tamil

defensive rampart
சுவர் cuvar
structure built for defense surrounding an area
மதில் matil

wall in Marathi

defensive rampart
भिंत bhinta
structure built for defense surrounding an area
भिंत bhinta
substantial structure acting as side or division in a building
भिंत bhinta
anatomy, zoology, botany: divisive or containing structure
कोशिकावरण kośikāvraṇ

wall in Urdu

defensive rampart
دِیوار dīvār, بادھا bādhā, رُکاوَٹ rukāvaṭ
structure built for defense surrounding an area
دِیوار dīvār, بادھا bādhā
More languagesFewer languages
wall in Bengali
দেওয়াল deōẇal
wall in Telugu
ప్రాకారము prākāramu, అడ్డు aḍḍu
wall in Malayalam
മതിൽ matil
wall in Kannada
ಗೋಡೆಯ
wall in Punjabi
ਕੰਧ kandh, کَندھ kandh
wall in Gujarati
દિવાલ
wall in Odia
ପ୍ରାଚୀର, କାନ୍ଥ, ପ୍ରାଚୀରକୁ
wall in Sanskrit
बाधा bādhā, भित्ति bhitti
wall in Assamese
বেৰ ber, দেৱাল dewal
wall in Nepali
भित्ता bhittā
wall in Pashto
دېوال dewāl, باره bāra
wall in Tagalog
pader, padér, dinding
wall in Arabic
حَائِط ḥāʔiṭ, جِدَار jidār, سُور sūr, سور sūr
wall in Malay
tembok, benteng, dinding
wall in Indonesian
tembok, dinding
wall in Persian
بارو bâru, دیوار divâr, والاد vâlâd, مانِع mâne'
wall in Thai
กำแพง gam-pɛɛng, ผนัง pà-nǎng, ฝา fǎa
wall in Vietnamese
tường
wall in Myanmar
မြို့ mrui., တံတိုင်း tamtuing:
Sindhi
ڀِتِ bhiti

Examples of wall in a sentence

  • Nanny Broome was looking up at the outer wall.1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 14, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
  • As for the wall....Im convinced part of this is just something us guys tell ourselves to 'get back'(in our minds) at all the girls who wouldn't sleep with us 5-10 years ago2015 July 20, “catcalls are bad”, in rec.sport.football.college (Usenet):
  • Taking the wall thus was also a social distinction.2017, Catharina Löffler, Walking in the City, page 135:

All 40 example sentences with wall

Synonyms of wall

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of wall

Forms of wall

Noun
pluralwalls
Verb
third-person singular presentwalls
present participlewalling
past participlewalled
pastwalled
Proper noun
pluralWalls

Past tense of wall: walled

Plural of wall: walls

Origin of wall

From Middle English wal, from Old English weall (“wall, dike, earthwork, rampart, dam, rocky shore, cliff”), from Proto-West Germanic *wall (“wall, rampart, entrenchment”), from Latin vallum (“wall, rampart, entrenchment, palisade”), from Proto-Indo-European *welH- (“to turn, wind, roll”). Perhaps conflated with waw (“a wall within a house or dwelling, a room partition”), from Middle English wawe, from Old English wāg, wāh (“an interior wall, divider”), see waw. Cognate with North Frisian wal (“wall”), Saterland Frisian Waal (“wall, rampart, mound”), Dutch wal (“wall, rampart, embankment”), German Wall (“rampart, mound, embankment”), Swedish vall (“mound, wall, bank”). More at wallow, walk.

From Middle English wallen, from Old English weallan (“to bubble, boil”), from Proto-West Germanic *wallan, from Proto-Germanic *wallaną (“to fount, stream, boil”), from Proto-Indo-European *welH- (“wave”). Cognate with Middle Dutch wallen (“to boil, bubble”), Dutch wellen (“to weld”), German wellen (“to wave, warp”), Danish vælde (“to overwhelm”), Swedish välla (“to gush, weld”). See also well.

From Middle English walle, from Old English *wealla, *weall (“spring”), from Proto-Germanic *wallô, *wallaz (“well, spring”). See above. Cognate with Old Frisian walla (“spring”), Old English wiell (“well”).

Words formed from wall

Phrases with wall

155 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with wall

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about wall

What does wall mean?
Wall means a rampart of earth, stones etc. built up for defensive purposes.
What is wall in Hindi?
Wall in Hindi is दीवार (dīvār), बाधा (bādhā), रुकावट (rukāvaṭ). See Wall meaning in Hindi.
How do you use wall in a sentence?
Nanny Broome was looking up at the outer wall.
What part of speech is wall?
Wall can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce wall?
Wall is pronounced /wɔːl/ (UK).
What is the plural of wall?
The plural of wall is walls.

Words near wall in the dictionary

  1. Walkyr
  2. Walkyrian
  3. Walkyrie
  4. Walkyries
  5. Walkyrs
  6. wall
  7. wall angel
  8. wall angels
  9. wall ball
  10. wall barley
  11. wall barleys

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: wall (page history and authors); Wall (page history and authors); wall (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); wall (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); wall (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-uk-wall.ogg, en-us-wall.ogg.

Cite this entry: “wall.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/wall. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.