wall-like

Variant of wall

wall definition

wall (wôl)

noun

  1. an upright structure of wood, stone, brick, etc., serving to enclose, divide, support, or protect; specif.,
    1. such a structure forming a side or inner partition of a building
    2. such a continuous structure serving to enclose an area, to separate fields, etc.
    3. such a structure used as a military defense; fortification
    4. such a structure used to hold back water; levee; dike
  2. something resembling a wall in appearance or function, as the side or inside surface of a container or body cavity
  3. something suggestive of a wall in that it holds back, divides, hides, etc. a wall of secrecy

Etymology: ME wal < OE weall (akin to Ger wall) < L vallum, rampart < vallus, a stake, palisade < IE base *wel-, to turn > walk

adjective

  1. of or along a wall
  2. placed or growing on, in, or against a wall

transitive verb

  1. 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
  2. to close up (an opening) with a wall: usually with up

Related Forms:

wall Idioms

drive to the wall

or push to the wall
to place in a desperate or extreme position

drive up the wall

or send up the wall
Informal to make frantic, emotionally tense, crazy, etc.

go to the wall

  1. to be forced to retreat or yield in a conflict; suffer defeat
  2. to fail in business; become bankrupt

hit the wall

or hit a wall
Informal to come to a point beyond which there is no further progress to hit the wall after four years of steady profits

off the wall

Slang
  1. unsound of mind; crazy
  2. very eccentric or unconventional

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.