Great Firewall

British  

noun

1. informal a system that prevents access to websites deemed undesirable by the government of the People's Republic of China

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Etymology

Origin of Great Firewall

C21: a play on the _{Great Wall of China}

Example Sentences

They reflect the country’s longstanding efforts to control public discourse, including setting up the Great Firewall in the early 2000s.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 24, 2025

Resourceful activists have been finding new ways to get around this but even those few cracks in the Great Firewall - like AirDrop - are now slowly being plugged.

From BBC • Jun. 8, 2023

Asked by a reporter whether the United States planned on using tools to help Chinese internet users circumvent the Great Firewall, Jean-Pierre said she did not have any new information.

From Washington Post • Nov. 30, 2022

Though both are banned in China, Wang hopes his reports will trickle over China’s Great Firewall and into the country.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 19, 2022

While China has built a series of filters known as the Great Firewall around its internet, Russia’s internet is more open, and U.S. tech platforms are widely used in the country.

From New York Times • Feb. 26, 2022