paywall

American  

[pay-wawl] / ˈpeɪˌwɔl /

Or pay wall

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.

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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.

Etymology

Origin of paywall

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

paywall

In the UK, the current situation is that Sky has exclusive rights to broadcast F1 behind a paywall, while Channel 4 has highlights on free-to-air television, with live coverage of the British Grand Prix.

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026

This year's Champions League final went behind a paywall in the UK for the first time in more than 30 years.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

Amazon plans to keep the Emmy Awards in front of its paywall, allowing people to watch the show for free.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

After an OpenAI researcher informed Brockman about a hack to get around the New York Times paywall when scraping content, Brockman responded, “ah nice,” according to the filing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

The details were vague, and the majority of the article was hidden behind a paywall.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson

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