stone·wall
ˈstōn-ˌwȯl 
stonewalled; stonewalling; stonewalls
1
chiefly British
: to engage in obstructive parliamentary debate or delaying tactics
2
: to be uncooperative, obstructive, or evasive
: to refuse to comply or cooperate with
stonewaller
noun
1
: a fence made of stones
especially
: one built of rough stones without mortar to enclose a field
2
: an immovable block or obstruction (as in public affairs)
Examples of stonewall in a Sentence
Verb
They stonewalled until they could come up with a response.
They were just stonewalling for time.
They're trying to stonewall the media.
We're trying to get the information, but we're being stonewalled.
Recent Examples on the Web
Kim Bellware, Washington Post, 17 Nov. 2023
Fox lawyers stonewalled Dominion on the grounds that the suit was against Fox News, rather than its parent company Fox Corp, exempting Murdoch.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 15 Nov. 2023
He was convicted last year of contempt of Congress, for stonewalling the House committee that investigated the January 6 insurrection.
—Marshall Cohen, CNN, 17 July 2023
The agency subsequently stonewalled Parada’s Freedom of Information Act request for records on the dig, prompting him to file a lawsuit.
—Michael Rubinkam, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2023
In a message to its 160,000 members Monday, SAG-AFTRA accused the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers of stonewalling and not engaging in talks over their most critical issues.
—Anousha Sakoui, Los Angeles Times, 18 July 2023
According to testimony Corcoran gave, he was encouraged by Trump to stonewall or not comply with the subpoena.
—Josh Dawsey and Jacqueline Alemany, Anchorage Daily News, 15 June 2023
From the first game of the week, when the Utah Utes stonewalled the Florida Gators and the mighty SEC, until the final game of the week, when quarterback DJ Uiagalelei opened his reclamation season with a near-perfect debut for the Oregon State Beavers, the Pac-12 delivered on its preseason hype.
—Joe Freeman, oregonlive, 5 Sep. 2023
The Biden administration has focused on the lab in their probe into COVID-19’s origins, and the White House, the U.S. intelligence community, and many in the international public health community have consistently and vociferously criticized Beijing and WIV for stonewalling their investigations.
—Sasha Pezenik, ABC News, 19 July 2023
Chris Bohjalian, Washington Post, 9 Nov. 2023
And, as with all relationship troubles, couples therapy may be a helpful resource in mastering these skills — and learning to break through the stone wall in the process.
—Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 25 Oct. 2023
Long tendrils of caper vines hang on the stone walls and bursts of fuchsia bougainvillea shock the senses.
—Laura Itzkowitz, Travel + Leisure, 16 Oct. 2023
On the stone walls today are black and white photographs printed from those archives, including some that Mr. Gharabi’s father had colored by hand himself many years earlier.
—Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 2 Oct. 2023
Now, behind the nunnery’s stone walls in that flat and prosaic Midwestern hamlet, a distraught Schmidt was institutionalized for several months.
—TIME, 28 Oct. 2023
Scripps modeled his Miramar ranch house (razed in 1973) after Miramare Castle in Trieste, Italy.
Landmarks: The community library, opened in 1993, occupies the site of Scripps’ daughter’s 1930s home and part of the estate’s stone wall remains.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Oct. 2023
The Hulk experience, for instance, was relatively simple, with the muscled green man simply appearing at unexpected moments — crashing, The Times reported, a makeup show, or careening through a fake stone wall at other points on the tour.
—Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2023
The stone walls, terra-cotta floors, and wooden beams of medieval cottages have been preserved.
—Susan Portnoy, Travel + Leisure, 21 Oct. 2023
See More
Verb
By early September, leaders at the San Diego shelter had grown concerned, Weitzman said, as they were stonewalled their by Arizona counterparts.
—Kim Bellware, Washington Post, 17 Nov. 2023
Fox lawyers stonewalled Dominion on the grounds that the suit was against Fox News, rather than its parent company Fox Corp, exempting Murdoch.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 15 Nov. 2023
He was convicted last year of contempt of Congress, for stonewalling the House committee that investigated the January 6 insurrection.
—Marshall Cohen, CNN, 17 July 2023
The agency subsequently stonewalled Parada’s Freedom of Information Act request for records on the dig, prompting him to file a lawsuit.
—Michael Rubinkam, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2023
In a message to its 160,000 members Monday, SAG-AFTRA accused the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers of stonewalling and not engaging in talks over their most critical issues.
—Anousha Sakoui, Los Angeles Times, 18 July 2023
According to testimony Corcoran gave, he was encouraged by Trump to stonewall or not comply with the subpoena.
—Josh Dawsey and Jacqueline Alemany, Anchorage Daily News, 15 June 2023
From the first game of the week, when the Utah Utes stonewalled the Florida Gators and the mighty SEC, until the final game of the week, when quarterback DJ Uiagalelei opened his reclamation season with a near-perfect debut for the Oregon State Beavers, the Pac-12 delivered on its preseason hype.
—Joe Freeman, oregonlive, 5 Sep. 2023
The Biden administration has focused on the lab in their probe into COVID-19’s origins, and the White House, the U.S. intelligence community, and many in the international public health community have consistently and vociferously criticized Beijing and WIV for stonewalling their investigations.
—Sasha Pezenik, ABC News, 19 July 2023
Noun
The remains of the stone wall from another century when this patch of woods was a farmer’s meadow.
—Chris Bohjalian, Washington Post, 9 Nov. 2023
And, as with all relationship troubles, couples therapy may be a helpful resource in mastering these skills — and learning to break through the stone wall in the process.
—Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 25 Oct. 2023
Long tendrils of caper vines hang on the stone walls and bursts of fuchsia bougainvillea shock the senses.
—Laura Itzkowitz, Travel + Leisure, 16 Oct. 2023
On the stone walls today are black and white photographs printed from those archives, including some that Mr. Gharabi’s father had colored by hand himself many years earlier.
—Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 2 Oct. 2023
Now, behind the nunnery’s stone walls in that flat and prosaic Midwestern hamlet, a distraught Schmidt was institutionalized for several months.
—TIME, 28 Oct. 2023
Scripps modeled his Miramar ranch house (razed in 1973) after Miramare Castle in Trieste, Italy.
Landmarks: The community library, opened in 1993, occupies the site of Scripps’ daughter’s 1930s home and part of the estate’s stone wall remains.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Oct. 2023
The Hulk experience, for instance, was relatively simple, with the muscled green man simply appearing at unexpected moments — crashing, The Times reported, a makeup show, or careening through a fake stone wall at other points on the tour.
—Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2023
The stone walls, terra-cotta floors, and wooden beams of medieval cottages have been preserved.
—Susan Portnoy, Travel + Leisure, 21 Oct. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stonewall.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
Verb
1880, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of stonewall was
before the 12th century
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Cite this Entry
“Stonewall.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stonewall. Accessed 29 Nov. 2023.
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