: 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
In response to the backlash, X moved Grok’s image editing features behind a paywall on Friday, limiting the functionality to paid subscribers who provide identification and payment information.
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Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 12 Jan. 2026
The reporting drove eyeballs to his site, but Lizza said his decision to keep 60% of the content outside of a paywall meant the readership wasn’t really monetized.
—Ben Smith, semafor.com, 9 Jan. 2026
But the top 20 pieces — 10 free, 10 behind our STAT+ paywall — are more interesting and revealing than that list, with each story adding important nuance and personal voices to debates often flattened into pro or con.
—Torie Bosch, STAT, 31 Dec. 2025
Facing backlash for putting her post-surgery face behind a paywall, however, led Clinton to give her regular followers a look at her results without paying the hefty price.
—Ingrid Vasquez, PEOPLE, 26 Dec. 2025
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Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 12 Jan. 2026
The reporting drove eyeballs to his site, but Lizza said his decision to keep 60% of the content outside of a paywall meant the readership wasn’t really monetized.
—Ben Smith, semafor.com, 9 Jan. 2026
But the top 20 pieces — 10 free, 10 behind our STAT+ paywall — are more interesting and revealing than that list, with each story adding important nuance and personal voices to debates often flattened into pro or con.
—Torie Bosch, STAT, 31 Dec. 2025
Facing backlash for putting her post-surgery face behind a paywall, however, led Clinton to give her regular followers a look at her results without paying the hefty price.
—Ingrid Vasquez, PEOPLE, 26 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paywall
Cite this Entry
“Paywall.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paywall. Accessed 19 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
paywall
noun
pay·wall
ˈpā-ˌwȯl 
: a system that prevents Internet users from accessing certain Web content without a paid subscription
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