wallpaper

American  

[wawl-pey-per] / ˈwɔlˌpeɪ pər /

noun

1. paper, usually with printed decorative patterns in color, for pasting on and covering the walls or ceilings of rooms, hallways, etc.

2. any fabric, foil, vinyl material, etc., used as a wall or ceiling covering.

3. Computers. a design or picture in the background of the primary display screen of a graphical user interface.

   Personalize your tablet by changing the wallpaper.

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verb (used with object)

1. to put wallpaper on (a wall, ceiling, etc.) or to furnish (a room, house, etc.) with wallpaper.

wallpaper British  

/ ˈwɔːlˌpeɪpə /

noun

1. paper usually printed or embossed with designs for pasting onto walls and ceilings

2. 1. something pleasant but bland which serves as an unobtrusive background

   2. ( as modifier )

      wallpaper music

3. computing a graphics file that can be displayed in certain applications behind or around the main dialogue boxes, working display areas, etc, for decoration

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verb

1. to cover (a surface) with wallpaper

Etymology

Origin of wallpaper

First recorded in 1820–30; wall + paper

Example Sentences

Inside, the wallpaper is flaking, carpets are frayed and doors are broken.

From BBC • May 20, 2026

Voltz Clarke staged an impressive booth whose lush wallpaper blended into the similarly adorned frames of Ruth Owens.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

“It’s been a progressive layering of colors, furniture, reupholstering, adding art, wallpaper, lighting,” she says.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026

Kennedy praised it as a place where kids can have access to organic food and learn trades like baking, building furniture, or producing wallpaper.

From Salon • Apr. 21, 2026

Now that it was dusk outside, the store had turned on the hanging lights, and thanks to them and the pink wallpaper, everything was cast with a pink-gold glow.

From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon