# wallpaper

Pronunciation: US say "WAWL-pay-per" /ˈwɔlˌpeɪpɚ/; UK say "WAWL-pay-puh" /ˈwɔːlˌpeɪpə/

## Noun

1. A decorative, paper-like covering applied to the interior walls of a room or building.
   - Simple: Special paper that you stick on the inside walls of a room to make them look nice.
   - _They hung floral wallpaper throughout the hallway last spring._
   - _Damp had caused the wallpaper to bubble and lift away from the plaster._
2. A picture or repeating pattern displayed behind everything else on a computer desktop.
   - Simple: A picture or pattern shown behind the icons on a computer screen.
   - _He downloaded a high-resolution wallpaper of a mountain range for his laptop._
   - _The default wallpaper shipped with the operating system shows abstract waves._
4. A single roll of decorative paper-like material made for covering walls.
   - Simple: One rolled-up length of paper made for covering a wall.
   - _The estimate called for six wallpapers to finish the staircase._
   - _She returned an unopened wallpaper to the store for a refund._
5. A particular pattern or design of decorative wall covering.
   - Simple: A certain pattern or design of paper used to cover walls.
   - _The designer launched a new wallpaper inspired by Art Deco motifs._
   - _Several vintage wallpapers from the 1970s are back in fashion._
6. Something that becomes an unnoticed part of its surroundings.
   - Simple: Anything that fades into the background and becomes part of the surroundings.
   - _The constant traffic noise had become wallpaper to the city's longtime residents._
   - _After years on the job, the safety warnings were just wallpaper to him._
7. In television news, general footage of a building or place, used as background to a related report. *(slang)*
   - Simple: General video of a building or place, shown behind a news story on TV.
   - _The editor cut in wallpaper of the factory while the anchor read the statement._
   - _With no live feed available, the producer fell back on wallpaper of the harbor._
8. In stamp collecting, garish stamps printed in bulk purely to sell to collectors, and usually worth little or nothing. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Cheap, colorful stamps made in large numbers just to sell to collectors.
   - _The dealer warned that the colorful sheets were wallpaper, worth far less than their face price._
   - _Auction catalogs rarely bother listing wallpaper from those tiny postal agencies._
9. A radio operator's collection of awards and QSL cards from confirmed contacts with other stations.
   - Simple: A radio user's collection of awards and cards from other operators they have reached.
   - _The veteran operator's wallpaper spanned three decades of contacts across the globe._
   - _New hams are often eager to start building their wallpaper._

## Verb

3. To cover a wall or room with decorative paper-like material.
   - Simple: To put decorative paper on the walls of a room.
   - _She wallpapered the entire dining room in a deep green print._
   - _Professional decorators can wallpaper a large room in a single afternoon._

## Origin

A compound formed from 'wall' and 'paper'.

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