wallpaper

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noun wall·pa·per \ˈwȯl-ˌpā-pər\

Updated on: 26 Jul 2017

Definition of wallpaper

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

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Examples of wallpaper in a Sentence

The wallpaper began to peel.

Recent Examples of wallpaper from the Web

Brick wallpaper and metal pipe bookcases give his room an industrial feel while gray curtains trimmed with basketball orange and an animal hide rug give the room a unique style.

— madeleine winer, The Courier-Journal, "Coastal meets Southern rustic in this elegant Goshen estate," 20 July 2017
The city rolled out cellular and wireless Internet service to all of its stations this year; the fancy wallpaper on the E train celebrates an initiative through which riders are able to access free chapters of books.

— vanityfair.com, VanityFair.com, "New York Subway Riders Are Now Risking Death to Escape Delayed Trains," 20 June 2017
The city rolled out cellular and wireless Internet service to all of its stations this year; the fancy wallpaper on the E train celebrates an initiative through which riders are able to access free chapters of books.

— kia makarechi, The Hive, "New York Subway Riders Are Now Risking Death to Escape Delayed Trains," 20 June 2017
That conversation continues in the adjacent powder room, where a bold, large-scale floral wallpaper pattern juxtaposes black geometric floor tile.

— tate gunnerson, chicagotribune.com, "Beauty in black and white," 8 June 2017
I’m left with a sleepy Siamese cat named Coco, a tray of Ciroc vodkas and the black velvet damask wallpaper last owner Robbie Williams chose for the high-ceilinged anteroom.

— chris martins, Billboard, "DJ Khaled: How Hard Work & Humility (Plus Assists From Drake & Bieber) Put Him on Top," 8 June 2017
Stories suffuse the old Pioneer Square bar like the tobacco smoke that left a sticky goo on the wallpaper, which its new owners — who plan to revive the place — have already replaced.

— brendan kiley, The Seattle Times, "A second act for the Double Header, the Pioneer Square gay bar that launched a thousand stories," 2 June 2017
Silverman’s jokes still vary from risqué to hilariously graphic, but that just feels like part of the wallpaper in 2017.

— david sims, The Atlantic, "Sarah Silverman Gets Introspective With A Speck of Dust," 31 May 2017
Guests stride down a corridor with deep red wallpaper to a waiting room equipped with a fireplace and shelved with aged lawbooks.

— simon akam, Bloomberg.com, "The Exquisitely English (and Amazingly Lucrative) World of London Clerks," 23 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'wallpaper.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of wallpaper

1827

wallpaper

verb wall·pa·per

Definition of wallpaper

transitive verb
: to provide the walls of (a room) with wallpaper
intransitive verb
: to put wallpaper on a wall

See wallpaper defined for English-language learners

First Known Use of wallpaper

1918

Financial Definition of WALLPAPER

wallpaper

noun

What It Is

Wallpaper is slang for a security with minimal to no market value.

How It Works

Once a security becomes worthless, its hard documentation (for example, its stock certificate) no longer has any practical function. The term "wallpaper" suggests that it be used as such.

Why It Matters

Following the Internet startup bust in the early 2000s, the stock of many web-based companies turned into wallpaper in a short span of time. The term doesn't only apply to stocks. For example, the impact of hyperinflation in Germany following World War I resulted in its currency becoming wallpaper.

Source: Investing Answers