: 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
Rather than charging readers to get past the paywalls, journals charged academics article processing charges, or APCs, to host their papers.
—
Anil Oza, STAT, 24 Apr. 2026
Tolentino encourages readers to skirt The New Yorker’s paywalls and read her articles for free.
—Thomas Chatterton Williams, The Atlantic, 23 Apr. 2026
News organizations elsewhere — including in the Caribbean — have faced layoffs, folded entirely or attempted to bring in new revenue by soliciting donations or adding paywalls to websites.
—ABC News, 14 Apr. 2026
Gratz made the decision to put more features behind the paywall, and overall subscription revenue quickly grew to 80% of OpenSnow’s total sales.
—Max Scheinblum, Denver Post, 3 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for paywall
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Anil Oza, STAT, 24 Apr. 2026
Tolentino encourages readers to skirt The New Yorker’s paywalls and read her articles for free.
—Thomas Chatterton Williams, The Atlantic, 23 Apr. 2026
News organizations elsewhere — including in the Caribbean — have faced layoffs, folded entirely or attempted to bring in new revenue by soliciting donations or adding paywalls to websites.
—ABC News, 14 Apr. 2026
Gratz made the decision to put more features behind the paywall, and overall subscription revenue quickly grew to 80% of OpenSnow’s total sales.
—Max Scheinblum, Denver Post, 3 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for paywall
Cite this Entry
“Paywall.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paywall. Accessed 28 Apr. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
