Wall Definition

wôl

walled, walls

noun

walls

An upright structure of wood, stone, brick, etc., serving to enclose, divide, support, or protect.

Webster's New World

A continuous structure of masonry or other material forming a rampart and built for defensive purposes.

American Heritage

Something resembling a wall in appearance or function, as the side or inside surface of a container or body cavity.

Webster's New World

A structure of stonework, cement, or other material built to retain a flow of water.

American Heritage

Something suggestive of a wall in that it holds back, divides, hides, etc.

A wall of secrecy.

Webster's New World

Synonyms:

verb

walled, walls

To furnish, line, enclose, divide, protect, etc. with or as with a wall or walls.

To wall a room with books, to wall off the old wing, a mind walled in by fears.

Webster's New World

To divide or separate with or as if with a wall. Often used with off:

Wall off half a room.

American Heritage

To confine or seal behind a wall; immure.

American Heritage

To close up (an opening) with a wall.

Webster's New World

To boil.

Wiktionary

Synonyms:

adjective

Of or along a wall.

Webster's New World

Placed or growing on, in, or against a wall.

Webster's New World

idiom

off the wall

Extremely unconventional.
Without foundation; ridiculous:
an accusation that is really off the wall.

American Heritage

up the wall

Into a state of extreme frustration, anger, or distress:
tensions that are driving me up the wall.

American Heritage

writing

An ominous indication of the course of future events:
saw the writing on the wall and fled the country.

American Heritage

drive to the wall

to place in a desperate or extreme position

Webster's New World

drive up the wall

to make frantic, emotionally tense, crazy, etc.

Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Wall

Noun

Singular:

wall

Plural:

walls

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Wall

off the wall
up the wall
writing
drive to the wall
drive up the wall
go to the wall
hit the wall
off the wall
(see) the handwriting (or writing) on the wall

Origin of Wall

From Middle English wall, from Old English weall (“wall, dike, earthwork, rampart, dam, rocky shore, cliff"), from Proto-Germanic *wallaz, *wallÄ… (“wall, rampart, entrenchment"), from Latin vallum (“wall, rampart, entrenchment, palisade"), from Proto-Indo-European *wel- (“to turn, wind, roll"). Cognate with North Frisian wal (“wall"), Dutch wal (“wall, rampart, embankment"), German Wall (“rampart, mound, embankment"), Swedish vall (“mound, wall, bank"). More at wallow, walk.

From Wiktionary
From Middle English wallen, from Old English weallian (“to bubble, boil"), from Proto-Germanic *wallōnÄ…, *wellōnÄ… (“to fount, stream, boil"), from Proto-Indo-European *welǝn-, *welǝm- (“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 Wiktionary
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

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
From Middle English walle, from Old English *weall (“spring"), from Proto-Germanic *wallô, *wallaz (“well, spring"). See above. Cognate with Old Frisian walla (“spring"), Old English wiell (“well").

From Wiktionary