Chinese Wall

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noun Informal.

an insuperable barrier or obstacle, as to understanding.

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Origin of Chinese Wall

First recorded in 1905–10

Words nearby Chinese Wall

Chinese tallow tree, Chinese tour, Chinese trumpet creeper, Chinese Turkestan, Chinese vermilion, Chinese Wall, Chinese water deer, Chinese watermelon, Chinese water torture, Chinese wax, Chinese whispers

How to use Chinese Wall in a sentence

A Wall Street person should not be allowed to help oversee the Dodd-Frank reforms.
Antonio Weiss Is Not Part of the Problem|Steve Rattner|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It was a brick wall that we turned into the on-ramp of a highway.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It reminded me a bit of an alternative take on The Wolf of Wall Street—through the Toni and Candace lens.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The family was taking some private moments for a closing of the coffin in keeping with Chinese ritual.
Funeral Protest Is Too Much for NYPD Union Boss|Michael Daly|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Marvin hops over the edge of his retaining wall, which he built.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
A flash of surprise and pleasure lit the fine eyes of the haughty beauty perched up there on the palace wall.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
Kind of a reception-room in there—guess I know a reception-room from a hole in the wall.
Boys and Girls Bookshelf; a Practical Plan of Character Building, Volume I (of 17)|Various
Distance, the uncertain light, and imagination, magnified it to a high wall; high as the wall of China.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
He leant against the wall of his refuge, notwithstanding this boast, and licked the ice to moisten his parched lips.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
Undesirable inhabitants of the country are being sent away, especially the Japanese, who are more dangerous than the Chinese.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various

British Dictionary definitions for Chinese Wall

Chinese wall

noun

a notional barrier between the parts of a business, esp between the market makers and brokers of a stock-exchange business, across which no information should pass to the detriment of clients

an insurmountable obstacle

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012