wɔ:l n. & v. --n. 1 a a
continuous and usu.
vertical structure of usu.
brick or
stone, having
little width in
proportion to
its length and
height and
esp. enclosing, protecting, or dividing a
space or supporting a
roof. b
the surface of a wall, esp.
inside a
room (hung the
picture on the wall). 2
anything like a wall in
appearance or
effect, esp.: a the steep
side of a
mountain. b a
protection or
obstacle (a wall of
steel bayonets; a wall of indifference). c Anat. the
outermost layer or enclosing
membrane etc. of an
organ, structure, etc. d the outermost
part of a
hollow structure (stomach wall). e Mining rock enclosing a
lode or
seam. --v.tr. 1 (esp. as walled adj.)
surround or
protect with a wall (walled garden). 2 a (usu. foll. by
up, off)
block or seal (a space etc.) with a wall. b (foll. by up)
enclose (a person)
within a sealed space (walled
them up in the dungeon). øgo to the wall be defeated or pushed
aside.
off the wall US sl.
unorthodox,
unconventional. up the wall colloq.
crazy or
furious (went up the wall
when he heard). wall bar
one of a set of
parallel bars, attached to the wall of a
gymnasium, on
which exercises are performed. wall-barley
wild barley as a
weed. wall-board a
type of wall-covering
made from wood pulp etc. wall
cress =
ARABIS. wall-fern an
evergreen polypody, Polypodium vulgare, with
very large leaves. wall-fruit
fruit grown on trees trained
against a wall
for protection and warmth. wall game
Brit. a
form of
football played at Eton. wall-knot = wale-knot. wall-painting a
mural or
fresco. wall
pepper a
succulent stonecrop,
Sedum acre, with a
pungent taste. wall-plate
timber laid in or on a wall to
distribute the
pressure of a
girder etc. wall rocket see
ROCKET(2). wall rue a
small fern,
Adiantum ruta-muraria, with leaves like rue, growing on walls and rocks. walls
have ears it is
unsafe to
speak openly, as
there may be eavesdroppers. wall-to-wall 1 (of a carpet)
fitted to
cover a
whole room etc. 2 colloq.
profuse,
ubiquitous (wall-to-wall
pop music). øøwalling n. wall-less adj. [OE f. L
vallum rampart f. vallus stake]