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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.


verb (used with object)

  • wallpapers,
    present (3rd person singular)
  • wallpapered,
    past participle,  past
  • wallpapering
    present participle
  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

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

    2. ( as modifier )

      wallpaper music

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to cover (a surface) with wallpaper

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of wallpaper

First recorded in 1820–30; wall + paper

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

As if to underscore the radical turn these artists were making, the paintings are hung on an ornate plum-red wallpaper in a wainscoted gallery that harks back to the Grand Palais’s look.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 25, 2026

Witkoff has become so ubiquitous in international transactions that his role as the co-founder of Trump’s business has all but faded into the gilt wallpaper of the Oval Office.

From Slate Jul. 22, 2026

That level of period detail extends to Bradbury & Bradbury wallpaper, ball-trim swag valances and wall air vents laser-cut in Moorish patterns.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 21, 2026

After several thousand hours of filming, the wallpaper is changed to provide clients with variety.

From Barron's Jun. 11, 2026

The dining room is nice and bright and has wallpaper with fruit designs.

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh

The bathrooms exude charm thanks to their patterned wallpapers.

From MarketWatch Jul. 24, 2026

He raised the roof of the house he inherited; added wings, a porch and a cupola; and selected—along with his wife, Martha—the interior’s paint colors, wallpapers and furniture.

From The Wall Street Journal Feb. 7, 2026

I designed some almost-old-fashioned floral wallpapers for this house, but they’re often purposefully paired with a stripe.

From Los Angeles Times May 12, 2025

It includes prints, watercolours, ceramics, wallpapers, murals, posters, advertising designs, book illustrations and even a garden bench.

From BBC Feb. 17, 2024

They had restored the great chandelier, the gilt columns, the finely patterned wallpapers, installing screens where there had been stages.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Common to much of the user-generated content are eerie images and haunting stories of mysterious, yellow wallpapered corridors and empty office-like spaces that exist outside of, or beyond, reality itself.

From Science Daily Jul. 26, 2026

From wallpapered ceilings and hand-painted murals to lattice-covered walls and dueling kitchen islands, each room is a visual delight, even if it’s not your personal taste.

From Los Angeles Times Apr. 17, 2025

The couple took an easier approach in the second room, wallpapered with an artsy series of sardine cans.

From Washington Post Apr. 14, 2023

Jenkins has designed rooms with wallpapered ceilings featuring elaborate florals, clouds and multicolored, marbleized patterns.

From Seattle Times Jan. 19, 2023

But for the past eight or ten years, Mr. Larson had not bothered to take down the old papers—he just wallpapered over them with the new ones.

From "The Landry News" by Andrew Clements

And Nickey, who happened to be wallpapering his own bathroom, invited us along to see how it’s done.

From Seattle Times Feb. 28, 2024

Reita Green, a former dancer and actress, has become best friends with wallpapering partner Beverly Pate, who’s 58 years her junior.

From Los Angeles Times Dec. 12, 2023

She says the company took her and her colleagues on training courses to learn how to to do DIY, such as painting and wallpapering.

From BBC Oct. 7, 2023

These long chains of fractions could stretch out across 15 feet of notebook pages wallpapering his cell.

From Scientific American Jun. 2, 2023

The mural itself had been damaged in spots by all the wallpapering done over it, so she was not able to make out the artist’s signature.

From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood

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