wall
wall — noun
1. a flat vertical surface, built from materials such as brick, stone, or timber, t
a flat vertical surface, built from materials such as brick, stone, or timber, that forms the side of a house or room, marks a boundary between two pieces of land, or stops animals or people from passing in or out.
The old stone walls of the castle were nearly three feet thick.
compound: stone wall / brick wall / concrete wall
Nora painted her bedroom wall a soft shade of blue last weekend.
A high brick wall surrounded the garden and kept the dogs inside.
The children hung their drawings on the classroom wall for everyone to see.
Obi leaned against the wall and waited for the bus to arrive.
- stone wall
- brick wall
- concrete wall
- garden wall
- high wall
- thick wall
- painted wall
- blank wall
- against the wall
- on the wall
Grammar Patterns
wall of [material]
compound: stone wall / brick wall / concrete wall
Usage Note
Often used in compound nouns to describe the material or purpose of the wall, such as stone wall, garden wall, or boundary wall.
Common Mistakes
2. the tissue that forms the outermost covering of a hollow internal structure insi
the tissue that forms the outermost covering of a hollow internal structure inside a living creature, such as a stomach, blood tube, or plant cell.
The doctor explained that the stomach wall has several layers of muscle.
anatomical: stomach wall / cell wall / artery wall
High blood pressure can slowly damage the walls of your arteries over time.
Putri learned about the structure of cell walls in her biology class at school.
A bad infection had caused swelling in the wall of Anong's colon.
- stomach wall
- cell wall
- artery wall
- blood vessel wall
- chest wall
- abdominal wall
Grammar Patterns
[body part] wall
Usage Note
Frequently appears in compound medical terms (blood vessel wall, chest wall, abdominal wall). Learners need only recognize this sense in health contexts rather than actively produce it.
3. a dense crowd or thick cluster of individuals or items packed so tightly that mo
a dense crowd or thick cluster of individuals or items packed so tightly that moving beyond them becomes extremely difficult.
The demonstrators formed a solid wall to block the entrance to the building.
wall of + people/things forming an obstacle
A wall of security guards stood between the stage and the screaming fans.
Joon pushed through a wall of people to reach his friend at the concert.
After the storm, a wall of fallen trees blocked the mountain road completely.
- wall of people
- wall of police
- wall of security
- solid wall
- human wall
- wall of bodies
- form a wall
Grammar Patterns
wall of [people/things]
Usage Note
Almost always followed by of + noun describing the people or objects forming the barrier. The subject of the sentence is typically someone trying to move past the wall.
4. in football (soccer), a line of defending players who stand side by side at a fi
in football (soccer), a line of defending players who stand side by side at a fixed distance from the ball to make it harder for the opposing team to score directly from a free kick.
The goalkeeper placed four players in the wall for the free kick.
football: defensive wall in a free kick
Mateo curled the ball over the wall and into the top corner of the net.
The referee made the wall stand exactly ten yards from the ball.
A well-organized wall is hard to score past in a free kick situation.
- defensive wall
- form a wall
- stand in the wall
- jump in the wall
- break the wall
- free kick wall
Grammar Patterns
form a wall
stand in the wall
defensive wall
Usage Note
Used primarily in British football contexts. American English typically uses wall only for soccer, not for American football. The phrase defensive wall is common in match commentary.
5. a large, powerful, fast-moving mass of something such as water, fire, or sound t
a large, powerful, fast-moving mass of something such as water, fire, or sound that moves forward like a solid barrier.
A wall of flame swept through the dry forest, forcing everyone to run.
wall of + substance (water/fire/sound)
The tsunami hit the coast as a wall of dark water fifteen feet high.
A wall of sound hit the crowd when the band played their first song.
Mira watched a wall of fog roll in from the sea toward the little harbor.
- wall of water
- wall of flame
- wall of fire
- wall of sound
- wall of fog
- wall of smoke
Grammar Patterns
wall of [substance]
Usage Note
Always uses the pattern wall of + noun and usually describes something dramatic or dangerous. Not used for small or gentle quantities — a light drizzle is not a wall of rain.
6. a feeling, attitude, or set of behaviours that stops two people or groups from s
a feeling, attitude, or set of behaviours that stops two people or groups from sharing ideas or understanding one another, or that holds back development or change.
A wall of mistrust between the two communities is hard to break down.
wall of + emotion; figurative barrier
After the argument, Charlotte felt a wall had grown between her and her sister.
The manager tried hard to break down the wall that kept staff from sharing ideas.
Years of misunderstanding had built a wall between the management and the workers.
- wall of silence
- wall of mistrust
- wall of indifference
- wall between
- break down the wall
- build a wall
- come up against a wall
- wall of prejudice
- bridge
something that connects two groups instead of separating them
Grammar Patterns
wall of [emotion]
wall between [groups]
break down the wall
Usage Note
Distinguish from sense 3 (CROWD / BARRIER): sense 3 describes a literal physical mass; sense 6 describes an abstract emotional or social obstacle. The verb break down is a common fixed collocation for this sense.
Common Mistakes
wall something in
phrasal verbto surround an area or object with a wall so that it is completely enclosed.
The small courtyard was walled in on all four sides by tall buildings.
The garden was walled in to create a private space for the family.
wall something off
phrasal verbto separate an area or part of a building from the rest by building a wall.
The warehouse manager walled off the unused part of the building to save on heating costs.
The damaged section of the tunnel was walled off for safety reasons.
wall something up
phrasal verbto close an opening, doorway, or window permanently by filling it with bricks, stone, or other wall material.
The old fireplace had been walled up years ago when central heating was installed.
The builders walled up the extra doorway to make the room feel more private.
wall somebody up
phrasal verbto trap or imprison a person behind a wall, often by building a wall that blocks their escape.
In the old legend, the king walled up his enemies inside the castle dungeon.
The prisoner was walled up in a tiny cell with no windows for years.
go to the wall
idiomof a company or organization, to fail financially and go out of business.
Many small shops went to the wall during the economic crisis.
After twelve months of heavy losses, the family restaurant went to the wall.
used to describe a situation where clear signs show that something is going to fail or have serious problems in the future.
The team had lost ten games in a row, and the writing was on the wall for the coach.
The company was losing customers fast, but nobody saw the writing on the wall.
to be in a very difficult situation where you are forced to act but have few or no good options.
With debts piling up, the small business owner had his back to the wall.
The soldiers had their backs to the wall and nowhere left to retreat.
hit a/the wall
idiomto reach a point where you can no longer continue or make progress, especially because of physical exhaustion or loss of motivation.
Élise hit a wall in her marathon training and could not run another mile.
The project team hit the wall when their main funder pulled out suddenly.
off the wall
idiomunusual, unexpected, or slightly crazy in a way that people may find interesting or strange.
Some of Michael's ideas seemed off the wall at first, but they actually worked well.
Her off-the-wall sense of humor made everyone laugh at the party.
these four walls
idiomused to talk about keeping a secret within a small, private group, implying that the information must not be told to anyone outside that space.
Please keep what I said within these four walls — do not tell anyone else.
What is discussed in this room stays within these four walls, understood?
to make someone extremely annoyed, frustrated, or irritated.
The constant noise from the construction site drove Nora up the wall.
That song has been stuck in my head all day and it is driving me up the wall.
walls have ears
idiomused to warn people that others may be listening, so they should be careful what they say.
Be careful what you say in this café — walls have ears, you know.
Lower your voice. Walls have ears, and we cannot trust everyone here.
fly on the wall
idioma person who is able to watch events without being noticed, or a style of documentary that films people behaving naturally without their awareness of the camera.
Yara said she would love to be a fly on the wall during that important meeting.
The documentary used a fly-on-the-wall style to capture life in the hospital.
To continue trying to achieve something that is impossible.
Mia felt she was banging her head against a brick wall.
Arguing with him is like banging your head against a brick wall.
To be extremely energetic or excited and unable to stay calm.
The kids were bouncing off the walls after the party.
Diego is bouncing off the walls because of the good news.
To be unable to make progress because of an obstacle.
Sara is up against a brick wall in her research.
The team was up against a brick wall with the new rules.
a fly on the wall
idiomA person who watches others secretly without being seen.
I wish I were a fly on the wall in that meeting.
A fly-on-the-wall documentary showed their daily life.
Signs that something bad or difficult is going to happen.
The falling sales were the handwriting on the wall.
He ignored the handwriting on the wall until it was too late.
up the wall
idiomVery angry or annoyed.
The constant noise is driving me up the wall.
Mom will go up the wall if we are late again.
To realize that something bad or difficult is likely to happen.
The writing is on the wall for the old factory.
Brian saw the writing on the wall and started looking for a new job.
wall — verb
1. to build a wall around a place or area in order to protect it, enclose it, or st
to build a wall around a place or area in order to protect it, enclose it, or strengthen its defenses.
The old city was walled to protect it from attacks by enemy armies.
passive: be walled for protection
Yara's family walled their garden to stop deer from eating the vegetables.
In medieval times, most towns were walled to keep invaders out.
The government plans to wall the border area to control illegal crossings.
- walled city
- walled garden
- walled town
- walled compound
- walled enclosure
Grammar Patterns
be walled
wall [area] with [material]
Usage Note
Commonly used in the passive voice (was walled, is walled). The sense leans formal or historical; in everyday conversation, build a wall around is more frequent than the verb wall alone.
2. to close off an opening, space, or area by building a wall across it, or to sepa
to close off an opening, space, or area by building a wall across it, or to separate someone or something from others using a wall.
The homeowners walled off the old fireplace to create more space in the living room.
phrasal verb: wall off / wall up
The broken window was walled up with bricks and cement the next day.
The builders walled in the damaged section of the tunnel for safety reasons.
Obi walled off the storage area so the tools would not be in the way.
- wall off
- wall up
- wall in
- walled off
- walled up
- walled in
- open up
to create an opening or access
Grammar Patterns
wall off [something]
wall up [something]
wall [someone/something] in
Usage Note
Almost always appears with a particle (off, up, in) that specifies the direction or completeness of the separation. The bare verb wall without a particle belongs to sense 1 (SURROUND / FORTIFY).
Word family
- walledadjectiveB2
- wallingnounC1
- wall-to-walladjectiveC1
- stonewallverbC1
- off-the-walladjectiveC1
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
Wall, fence, barrier, and partition all describe something that divides or encloses a space, but they differ in material, solidity, and typical use. A wall (noun/1) is a solid, upright structure made of stone, brick, or concrete — it is permanent and often part of a building or a boundary. A fence is lighter, usually made of wood, metal, or wire, and is used mainly outdoors to mark a boundary or keep animals in or out. Barrier is more general and can be physical (a concrete barrier on a road) or abstract (a language barrier); it emphasises the blocking function rather than the material. A partition is a thin, often movable divider used inside a building to separate parts of a room. For example: 'The stone wall around the castle kept invaders out.' 'A wooden fence separated the two gardens.' 'Language was the biggest barrier to communication.' 'We put up a partition to create two offices from one large room.'
Common collocations
Nouns
- brick wall
- stone wall
- concrete wall
- garden wall
- boundary wall
- retaining wall
- cavity wall
- party wall
- curtain wall
Adverbs
- up (the wall)
- off (the wall)
- in (the wall)
Phrases
- off the wall
- up the wall
- wall to wall
- back to the wall
- on the wall
Prepositions
- against the wall
- on the wall
- along the wall
- over the wall
- through the wall
- between walls
- within the walls
Etymology
The word wall comes from Old English weall, meaning a rampart or defensive structure made of earth or stone. This in turn came from Latin vallum, which originally referred to a row of wooden stakes used as a defensive barrier. Over time the meaning broadened from military fortifications to any upright structure that divides, surrounds, or supports, including the sides of rooms and buildings.