paywall

noun

pay·​wall ˈpā-ˌwȯl 

: a system that prevents Internet users from accessing certain Web content without a paid subscription

Examples of paywall in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Members get all of our content (including the magazine), no paywalls or content meters, an advertising-minimal experience, and unique access to our writers and editors (through conference calls, social media groups, and more). —The Editors, National Review, 14 July 2024

The newsweekly, which dropped its paywall last year in a bid to attract more advertising revenue vs. digital subscription revenue, still has a print subscriber base of more than 1.1 million, per the Alliance of Audited Media. —Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 June 2024

Those of us with access to scholarly sources, both in print and online through libraries, can expand Wikipedia’s content by sharing information that might otherwise be behind a paywall. —Bridget Retzloff, The Conversation, 20 Mar. 2023

Article links bypass the paywall on ForeignAffairs.com for one month following the release date. —Foreign Affairs, 12 Feb. 2019

Word History

Etymology

pay entry 1 + firewall

First Known Use

2004, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

paywall

noun

pay·​wall ˈpā-ˌwȯl 

: a system that prevents Internet users from accessing certain Web content without a paid subscription