# paper

Pronunciation: US say "PAY-pur" /ˈpeɪpɚ/; UK say "PAY-puh" /ˈpeɪpə/

## Noun

1. A thin sheet material, usually made by draining cellulose fibers from a watery pulp, used mainly for writing and printing or for packaging that is not waterproof.
   - Simple: A thin, flat material made from wood fibers, used for writing, printing, or wrapping things.
   - _He jotted the address on a scrap of paper._
   - _Most paper is made from wood pulp that is pressed into thin sheets and dried._
2. Short for newspaper: a publication of news and other articles, usually issued daily or weekly, or the organization that publishes it. — Ellipsis of newspaper; anything used as such (such as a newsletter or listing magazine).
   - Simple: Short for newspaper. Use this form when talking about the daily or weekly news publication people read.
   - _Every local paper carried the scandal on its front page that week._
   - _She canceled the paper while she was away on vacation._
3. A piece of writing on a particular subject, such as a student essay, an official report, or an article presenting academic or scientific research.
   - Simple: A piece of writing about one subject, like a school essay, a report, or a research article.
   - _The reviewers asked the authors to revise their paper before publication._
   - _She co-wrote a paper on memory formation for the neuroscience journal._
9. Money in general. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Money, especially cash.
   - _The whole point of the hustle was making paper._
   - _He spent the summer chasing paper and ignoring everything else._
11. In rock-paper-scissors, an open, flat hand shape that beats rock and loses to scissors.
   - Simple: In the game rock-paper-scissors, a flat open hand that beats rock but loses to scissors.
   - _A player who throws paper beats rock yet loses to scissors every time._
   - _He guessed she'd pick paper again and countered with scissors._
12. Short for wrapping paper: paper used to cover gifts or packages, often printed with colorful designs. — Ellipsis of wrapping paper.
   - Simple: Short for wrapping paper. Use it for the colorful paper that covers gifts.
   - _He smoothed the festive paper and taped the final corner._
   - _We ran out of paper halfway through wrapping the gifts._
13. Short for wallpaper: paper, usually printed with a color or pattern, pasted onto the walls of a room as decoration. — Ellipsis of wallpaper.
   - Simple: Short for wallpaper: the decorated paper that covers the walls of a room.
   - _She chose a striped paper for the dining room._
   - _Moisture had loosened the paper along the baseboard._
6. Financial assets other than coins, including banknotes, commercial bills, and similar instruments.
   - Simple: Forms of money or value that are written or printed, not coins.
   - _During the crisis, investors dumped corporate paper and rushed into gold._
   - _The treasury issues short-term paper to manage its cash needs._
7. A set of examination questions to be answered in a single session. *(British, Hong Kong)*
   - Simple: A set of exam questions to answer in one sitting.
   - _Candidates sat the chemistry paper first thing on Monday morning._
   - _She found the second maths paper much harder than the first._
18. A papery substance produced by certain invertebrates to shield their nests and eggs.
   - Simple: A thin, paper-like material that some insects make to protect their nests and eggs.
   - _Hornets build the outer layers of their nest from a gray paper they make by chewing wood._
   - _A queen wasp begins her colony by shaping a small cell of paper._
19. A single course of study taken at a university. *(New Zealand)*
   - Simple: A single course of study at a university.
   - _This semester she enrolled in an introductory paper in law, which meets three times a week._
   - _The history department added two new papers to its second-year list._
8. Formal documents issued by an authority, especially those that show who someone is, their legal status or what they own.
   - Simple: Official documents that prove things like who you are or what you own.
   - _Without proper immigration papers, he couldn't legally accept the job._
   - _The seller handed over the car's ownership papers along with the keys._

## Adjective

4. Consisting of or made out of paper.
   - Simple: Made out of paper.
   - _Each guest drank from a paper cup at the picnic._
   - _The artist built an entire city out of paper models._
5. Existing only in plans, records, or name, rather than actually built, realized, or backed by real power.
   - Simple: Existing only in plans or in name, not in real life.
   - _For years the bypass was a paper scheme that no government funded._
   - _The fleet looked impressive on charts, but half of it was a paper navy._
10. Lacking real strength or substance; flimsy, like ordinary paper.
   - Simple: Weak and flimsy, without real strength.
   - _The treaty proved a paper barrier against an army determined to advance._
   - _The cheap hotel had paper walls, so we heard every word from the room next door._

## Verb

14. To cover or line a surface with paper, as in decorating a wall.
   - Simple: To cover a surface with paper.
   - _The decorator papered the hallway in a bold floral print._
   - _She plans to paper the alcove and tile the rest of the room._
15. To drape someone's house, trees, and yard with toilet paper, usually as a prank. *(dialectal, Northeastern, US)*
   - Simple: To throw toilet paper all over someone's house and yard as a prank.
   - _Each spring, neighborhood teenagers paper the coach's house after a win._
   - _The pranksters chose to paper the whole front lawn overnight._
16. To record or document something in writing, especially to create an official record.
   - Simple: To put something in writing as an official record.
   - _Staff papered each complaint so nothing slipped through the cracks._
   - _Before firing anyone, managers are told to paper every warning and missed deadline._
17. To submit official documents to a law court or similar authority.
   - Simple: To hand in official documents to a court or office.
   - _Hoping to stall the case, the company's lawyers papered the court with motions and appeals._
   - _Big firms sometimes paper the court with filings until the other side runs out of money._
20. To fill a theater or other event that normally charges admission with people given complimentary seats.
   - Simple: To fill a show or paid event with people who got free tickets.
   - _For the first previews, the producers papered the house with friends and relatives of the cast._
   - _Seat-filling services paper Broadway shows by sending their members to sit in unsold seats._

## Noun

21. Free passes of admission to a theater or similar event, or the audience members admitted on such passes. *(dated)*
   - Simple: Free tickets to a show, or the people who got in with them.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To wrap or enclose something in paper.
- (noun) A folded paper packet that holds a measured quantity of small items.
- (verb) To smooth or rub a surface with sandpaper.
- (verb) To announce publicly, usually by displaying posters, that someone is wanted by the police or another authority.
- (noun) A medicinal preparation spread on paper and applied to the skin from the outside.
- (verb) In bookbinding, to fit a book with its endpapers and flyleaves, pasting them in at either end before it goes into its covers.

## Origin

Ancient Greek "πάπυρος" (pápuros) gave Latin "papȳrus," which Old Catalan borrowed as "paper," adding its suffix -er. From there it passed to Anglo-Norman "paper" and Middle English "paper."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/paper (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).