wall up
phrasal verb
walled up; walling up; walls up
1
: to close off (an opening) by filling it with stone, brick, etc.
They walled up the doorway of the abandoned house.
2
: to keep (someone) as a prisoner in an enclosed space
He was walled up in the tower.
Examples of wall up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Hurricanes walled up early in the Fiesta Bowl, holding Mississippi to minus-one yard.
—
Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2026
The Hurricanes walled up early in the Fiesta Bowl, holding Ole Miss to minus-1 yard.
—Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 9 Jan. 2026
The Hurricanes walled up early in the Fiesta Bowl, holding Ole Miss to minus-1 yard.
—Dallas Morning News, 8 Jan. 2026
Are her walls up higher than ever?
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 8 Oct. 2025
Avoidant-avoidant duos, with all their sturdy walls up, might never form much of a bond at all.
—Faith Hill, The Atlantic, 27 Sep. 2025
Being less direct and formal can help prevent your kid putting a wall up — as can chatting during car rides since not being face-to-face can feel less intimidating for them.
—Kristen Rogers, CNN Money, 26 Sep. 2025
Also in Rutherford County, Murfreesboro has approved a site plan for a new In-N-Out that is under construction with walls up on Medical Center Parkway.
—Andy Humbles, The Tennessean, 19 Aug. 2025
Mills ran soon after and hopped a concrete wall up the street, prosecutors said.
—Tanasia Kenney, Miami Herald, 5 Aug. 2025
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.
Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2026
The Hurricanes walled up early in the Fiesta Bowl, holding Ole Miss to minus-1 yard.
—Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 9 Jan. 2026
The Hurricanes walled up early in the Fiesta Bowl, holding Ole Miss to minus-1 yard.
—Dallas Morning News, 8 Jan. 2026
Are her walls up higher than ever?
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 8 Oct. 2025
Avoidant-avoidant duos, with all their sturdy walls up, might never form much of a bond at all.
—Faith Hill, The Atlantic, 27 Sep. 2025
Being less direct and formal can help prevent your kid putting a wall up — as can chatting during car rides since not being face-to-face can feel less intimidating for them.
—Kristen Rogers, CNN Money, 26 Sep. 2025
Also in Rutherford County, Murfreesboro has approved a site plan for a new In-N-Out that is under construction with walls up on Medical Center Parkway.
—Andy Humbles, The Tennessean, 19 Aug. 2025
Mills ran soon after and hopped a concrete wall up the street, prosecutors said.
—Tanasia Kenney, Miami Herald, 5 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wall up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wall%20up. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share