wallpaper

American  

[wawl-pey-per] / ˈwɔlˌpeɪ pər /

noun

1. paper, usually with printed decorative patterns in color, for pasting on and covering the walls or ceilings of rooms, hallways, etc.

2. any fabric, foil, vinyl material, etc., used as a wall or ceiling covering.

3. Computers. a design or picture in the background of the primary display screen of a graphical user interface.

   Personalize your tablet by changing the wallpaper.

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verb (used with object)

wallpapers, present (3rd person singular) wallpapered, past participle, past wallpapering present participle

1. to put wallpaper on (a wall, ceiling, etc.) or to furnish (a room, house, etc.) with wallpaper.

wallpaper British  

/ ˈwɔːlˌpeɪpə /

noun

1. paper usually printed or embossed with designs for pasting onto walls and ceilings

2. 1. something pleasant but bland which serves as an unobtrusive background

   2. ( as modifier )

      wallpaper music

3. computing a graphics file that can be displayed in certain applications behind or around the main dialogue boxes, working display areas, etc, for decoration

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verb

1. to cover (a surface) with wallpaper

Other Word Forms

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have wallpapered
  perfect
• has wallpapered
  perfect 3rd person singular
• has been wallpapering
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• have been wallpapering
  perfect progressive
• am wallpapering
  progressive 1st person singular
• wallpapering
  participle
• wallpapers
  singular 3rd person
• are wallpapering
  progressive
• is wallpapering
  progressive 3rd person singular

Past

• had wallpapered
  perfect
• were wallpapering
  progressive plural
• had been wallpapering
  perfect progressive
• wallpapered
  simple
• was wallpapering
  progressive singular
• wallpapered
  participle

Future

• will wallpaper
  simple
• will have wallpapered
  perfect
• will have been wallpapering
  perfect progressive
• will be wallpapering
  progressive

Etymology

Origin of wallpaper

First recorded in 1820–30; wall + paper

Example Sentences

Hell isn’t fire and brimstone after all; it’s wallpaper, beige carpet and drop ceilings.

From Salon • May 30, 2026

Voltz Clarke staged an impressive booth whose lush wallpaper blended into the similarly adorned frames of Ruth Owens.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

In the nine-minute short, a young cameraman falls into what appears to be an empty furniture store with an eerie atmosphere: a seemingly endless series of rooms covered in yellow wallpaper and buzzing fluorescent lights.

From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026

Peel-and-stick wallpaper and temporary bathroom tiles and kitchen backsplashes are other changes that you can easily undo when you move out without causing permanent damage to the property.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 30, 2026

I imagined it lying in a muddy puddle on the sink, surrounded by strips of curling yellowed wallpaper.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover