fourth wall

noun

: an imaginary wall (as at the opening of a modern stage proscenium) that keeps performers from recognizing or directly addressing their audience

Examples of fourth wall in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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That fantasy element also lent itself to a fun Camp Rock Easter egg that breaks the fourth wall. Kelsie Gibson, PEOPLE, 15 Dec. 2025 Characters broke the fourth wall as players navigated conflicting intelligence and unreliable narrators, unclear about what was or wasn’t a simulation — a game within a game. Will Ripley, CNN Money, 12 Dec. 2025 The audience watches the Lumière at its original speed as time hurries by within the world of Bi’s movie, the scene not breaking the fourth wall so much as boring a peephole through it. Dennis Zhou, New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2025 Over the lifetime of Housewives as an institution, the various casts have found different ways to acknowledge, allude to, and flat out break the fourth wall. Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for fourth wall

Word History

First Known Use

1807, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of fourth wall was in 1807

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Cite this Entry

“Fourth wall.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fourth%20wall. Accessed 22 Dec. 2025.

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