wallpaper

1 of 2

noun

wall·​pa·​per ˈwȯl-ˌpā-pər 

1

: decorative paper for the walls of a room

2

: the background image or set of images displayed on a computer screen

After becoming a member, the user gets to design a homepage with his or her choice of pictures, music, wallpaper, writing, and information making each page unique.

—Fahiym Ratcliffe

wallpaper

2 of 2

verb

wallpapered; wallpapering; wallpapers

transitive verb

: to provide the walls of (a room) with wallpaper

intransitive verb

: to put wallpaper on a wall

Examples of wallpaper in a Sentence

Noun

The wallpaper began to peel.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Over the phone, Cruyff, Jongkind, and academy chief Wim Jonk wrote out a plan to reform the club — sketched out on a roll of wallpaper from an Airbnb — before presenting it to club officials, including Marco van Basten, Dennis Bergkamp, and Frank Rijkaard. —Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 3 July 2025

Nutter was also immediately motivated by William Morris, the English poet, artist and popular textile designer who's responsible for the birth of maximalist-style floral wallpaper. —Sydney Franklin, The Enquirer, 3 July 2025

Verb

Following O’Keefe’s death, Read spent the first few months mourning and reminiscing about her relationship and trying to distract herself by wallpapering the house, cooking with her mother, and reading, Vanity Fair reported. —Jordana Comiter, People.com, 18 June 2025

Looking to unclog a drain, remove a stain, wallpaper a bathroom, or redesign a living room? —Steven Bertoni, Forbes.com, 16 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1827, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1918, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for wallpaper

• newspaper
• notepaper
• sandpaper
• skyscraper
• wastepaper
• caper
• paper
• raper
• scraper
• shaper
• taper
• vapor

Kids Definition

wallpaper

noun

wall·​pa·​per

ˈwȯl-ˌpā-pər

: decorative paper for covering the walls of a room

wallpaper verb