What does wallpaper mean?
Wallpaper most commonly means a decorative material applied to the walls of a room. Traditionally it consisted of printed paper pasted in strips, although the term can also include other wall coverings. In digital usage, a wallpaper is the background image shown on a computer or mobile-device screen. The word can also be used figuratively for a background or setting, often with the suggestion that it is repetitive or unchanging. As a verb, wallpaper means to cover walls with decorative paper, as in “We wallpapered the spare room.” In everyday conversation, wallpaper sometimes carries the connotation of an old-fashioned or dated interior, but it remains a familiar word because it describes both a physical household covering and a familiar feature of digital devices.
Decorative paper or similar material applied to walls as a covering; also, by extension, a background image on a computer or other screen.
"The new wallpaper brightened the otherwise plain hallway."
The word can be used collectively for a type of wall covering or countably for a particular design or digital image.
To cover the walls of a room or another surface with wallpaper.
"They spent the weekend wallpapering the kitchen."
Wallpaper is normally transitive, while wallpapering is the usual form for the activity of applying wallpaper.
Used when referring to multiple coverings, decorative designs, or digital background images.
"The collection includes floral wallpapers and geometric patterns from the 1920s."
Wallpaper has embraced both sides of modern life: it covers the walls of a room and the background of a computer screen.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of wallpaper
Wallpaper is an English compound formed from wall and paper and dating from the 17th century. Paper entered Middle English through Old French papier, from Latin papyrus, which in turn came from Greek papyros. Wall descends from Old English wall, ultimately associated with Latin vallum, meaning a rampart or embankment.
Related word forms
How wallpaper is actually used
As a noun, wallpaper can refer collectively to a wall covering or to an individual digital background image. As a verb, it is normally used with a room, wall, or similar object as its object; wallpapering is the more common gerund when referring to the activity.