party wall

American  

noun

1. a wall used, or usable, as a part of contiguous structures.

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party wall British  

noun

1. property law a wall separating two properties or pieces of land and over which each of the adjoining owners has certain rights

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• party-walled
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of party wall

First recorded in 1660–70

Example Sentences

As a result, the property wall was effectively a party wall, he said, and "needed to come down anyway".

From BBC • May 23, 2023

Another potential pathway for unintended air flow between adjoining apartments is the common or "party" wall, a shared wall separating two individual units that is typically not airtight from top to bottom.

From Salon • Feb. 14, 2021

He said they were both in the bedroom at the time and his wife was still in bed, next to the party wall between the properties.

From BBC • Jan. 13, 2020

He considers them “structurally interdependent because they share a party wall and aesthetically interdependent because of the rhythmic pattern of the different styles of the facades as you go down the hill.”

From New York Times • Jun. 18, 2017

All that was visible from the street was a great high wall, apparently quite alone, no thicker than a party wall, with grated windows, to which iron screens gave farther protection.

From The Life of Charles Dickens, Vol. I-III, Complete by Forster, John