paywall

Or pay wall

[pey-wawl]

noun

1. a system in which access to all or part of a website is restricted to paid subscribers.

   Some newspapers have put their content behind a paywall.

2. the part of a website that can be accessed only by paid subscribers.

verb (used with object)

1. to restrict access to (all or part of a website) to paid subscribers.

   Here’s an abstract, but the full article is paywalled.

Word History and Origins

Origin of paywall¹

First recorded in 2005–10; pay ¹ + (fire)wall

Example Sentences

The paywall will be launched for the BBC app in the US at a later date.

Read more on BBC

The collective longing for a sturdier system, currently molting in tradwife TikToks and behind the paywall of Andrew Tate’s Hustlers University, is supported by a scaffolding of legitimate critique.

Read more on Salon

It also withers behind a paywall, is manipulated by social media algorithms and hollowed out by covert corporate consolidation.

Read more on Salon

But once members realized that outsiders were reading their discussions, the groups shifted to private forums, often behind a paywall.

Read more on Salon

The commissioner also made note of how Apple places games every week in front of its paywall.

Read more on Los Angeles Times