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

The kitchen walls are covered in floral wallpaper, the table is set with plates and aluminum coffee cups, baskets are filled with firewood, and old photographs of her parents hang above the bed. —Claudia Williams, Architectural Digest, 10 June 2026

Each room in the house is named after a type of heron, complete with custom wallpaper. —Claire Harutunian, Charlotte Observer, 10 June 2026

Verb

Bonus points were earned for wallpapering the ceiling, too. —Allison Duncan, Vogue, 29 May 2026

In her third-floor guest suite, Henley wallpapered the space—including the room’s eaves—in an olive-colored botanical print. —Katherine McLaughlin, Architectural Digest, 27 May 2026

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