Used to describe actions that started in the past and continue into or have direct relevance to the present.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ethan had texted to tell her James would be spending the night, but Sarah has walled herself off from as much human contact as possible, and doesn’t read her texts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
Voiced by a holier-than-thou Simon McBurney with such loathsome relish that you can practically smell the colonization reeking off the screen, Cromwell has walled himself inside a heavily fortified Irish hamlet when the story begins.
From Salon ● Dec. 12, 2020
For now, though, the guy has walled himself in.
From The New Yorker ● Nov. 18, 2016
The Pompidou, with restraint and politesse, has walled off the Gehry show from those emerging approaches.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2014
It seems to me that all my life long some one has walled me up in a nice, safe nest and fed me through my longings and desires.
From The Place Beyond the Winds by Harry Spafford Potter
