climbing the walls
idiom
informal
: feeling very anxious or frustrated because one has a lot of energy but is unable to do something he or she wants to do
Being stuck at home all weekend had me climbing the walls.
Examples of climbing the walls in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Lunches and dinners take place in the old Tonneria’s garden, with roses climbing the walls and the knockout sea views, surrounding craggy cliffs and cobbled stone beneath the table setting a rustic tone.
—
Rosalyn Wikeley, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Mar. 2023
As a kid, one day inside had been enough to send me climbing the walls, searching for anything to do.
—Kara Devlin, Longreads, 20 May 2022
Kids climbing the walls on Easter?
—Katie Bowlby, Country Living, 15 Apr. 2022
Our yen for contact and cocooning has got tactility climbing the walls.
—Kathryn O'Shea-Evans, WSJ, 23 Dec. 2021
My backyard in Atlanta currently looks more like the Florida Everglades, and my boys have started climbing the walls.
—Jennifer Gray, CNN, 20 Sep. 2021
Given all this heat, a Bob Ross channel probably would have done well even if Americans hadn’t been climbing the walls over the past 16 months.
—Washington Post, 30 July 2021
They can be seen climbing the walls on Maple Street in Chagrin Falls, frolicking at an outdoor party on Spring Drive in South Russell and at numerous other locations.
—Joan Rusek, cleveland, 23 Oct. 2020
The producers of this new version of Frances Hodgson Burnett's enduring 1911 children's literature classic, The Secret Garden, couldn't possibly have guessed their film would open five months into pandemic lockdown, when many children have been climbing the walls in isolation.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Aug. 2020
Rosalyn Wikeley, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Mar. 2023
As a kid, one day inside had been enough to send me climbing the walls, searching for anything to do.
—Kara Devlin, Longreads, 20 May 2022
Kids climbing the walls on Easter?
—Katie Bowlby, Country Living, 15 Apr. 2022
Our yen for contact and cocooning has got tactility climbing the walls.
—Kathryn O'Shea-Evans, WSJ, 23 Dec. 2021
My backyard in Atlanta currently looks more like the Florida Everglades, and my boys have started climbing the walls.
—Jennifer Gray, CNN, 20 Sep. 2021
Given all this heat, a Bob Ross channel probably would have done well even if Americans hadn’t been climbing the walls over the past 16 months.
—Washington Post, 30 July 2021
They can be seen climbing the walls on Maple Street in Chagrin Falls, frolicking at an outdoor party on Spring Drive in South Russell and at numerous other locations.
—Joan Rusek, cleveland, 23 Oct. 2020
The producers of this new version of Frances Hodgson Burnett's enduring 1911 children's literature classic, The Secret Garden, couldn't possibly have guessed their film would open five months into pandemic lockdown, when many children have been climbing the walls in isolation.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Aug. 2020
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'climbing the walls.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Climbing the walls.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/climbing%20the%20walls. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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