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单词 wall
释义 wall
I. \ˈwȯl\ noun
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English weall rampart, wall; akin to Old Saxon wal rampart, Middle High German wall; all from a prehistoric West Germanic word borrowed from Latin vallum rampart set with palisades, wall, from vallus stake, palisade; akin to Sanskrit vala beam, pole, Gothic walus stick, staff, Old Norse völr round stick, valr round, Latin volvere to roll — more at voluble
1.
 a.
  (1) : a high thick masonry structure forming an enclosure chiefly for defense against invasion
   < hurled stones and spears at the attackers from the wall >
   — usually used in plural
   < citizens ran to defend the walls of the city >
  (2) : a masonry fence around a garden, park, or estate
   < the wall of the villa follows the road for miles >
 b. : a rampart of considerable height and thickness and usually great length serving as a fortification (as on a border between territories or countries)
  < the great Chinese wall extended for more than 1500 miles >
 c. : a structure that serves to hold back pressure (as of water or sliding earth) — see retaining wall, seawall
2. : a vertical architectural member used to define and divide space
 < a continuously curving wall gives the building its shape >
especially : one of the sides of a room or building that connects the floor and ceiling or foundation and roof
 < the inside walls are all movable — London Calling >
 < the house has a glass wall facing the garden >
— see cavity wall, faced wall, nonbearing partition, party wall, storage wall
3. : the side of a footpath next to buildings
 < the passenger who takes the wall brushes the dim glass with his sleeve — Charles Dickens >
4.
 a. : an extreme or desperate position — usually used in the phrase to the wall
  < schools whose teachers … were driven to the wall financially — Dixon Wecter >
  < pushing them to the wall in the competitive struggle — T.W.Arnold >
 b. : a state of defeat, failure, or ruin — usually used in the phrase to the wall
  < let the weakest go to the wallArt & Industry >
  < since the war, several … magazines have gone to the wall — P.W.Crowcroft >
5. walls plural : a physical, intellectual, or spiritual area of influence
 < evident to those outside our academic walls — J.B.Conant >
6.
 a. : the external layer of structural material surrounding an object
  < surgical instruments for penetrating the wall of the body >
  < muscle wall >
  — often used in plural
  < staves form the walls of a barrel >
  < stomach walls >
 b.
  (1) : one of the surfaces of country rock lying adjacent to a vein, ore deposit, or coal seam
  (2) : one of the surfaces of a geological fault zone — see footwall, hanging wall
7.
 a.
  (1) : something resembling a wall in appearance
   < a towering mountain wall >
   < a wall of water, 75 feet high, … rushed upon the city — American Guide Series: Pennsylvania >
   < a stream flowing between the valley walls >
  (2) : something that resembles a wall in function especially by establishing limits or providing defense
   < a sovereign state would be outside the American tariff walls — S.F.Bemis >
   < two men hurt on the football team's forward wall >
   < going through the enemy's wall in linear formation — Tom Wintringham >
 b. : something immaterial or intangible that acts as a barrier to communication, understanding, or accomplishment
  < the wall of reserve the old man had built around himself — Ben Riker >
  < break down the wall of condescension — Charles Angoff >
  < unable to break through the wall of employer resistance — Frank O'Leary >
8. : the arrangement of tiles previous to the drawing of hands in a Mah-Jongg game
II. transitive verb
(-ed/-ing/-s)
Etymology: Middle English wallen, from wall, n.
1.
 a. : to provide or cover with a wall
  < to keep out street noises … the house was walled on that facade — Current Biography >
 b. : to surround or confine with or as if with walls : hem in — usually used with in
  < planning to wall in the garden for privacy >
  < a lake walled in by snow-covered peaks >
  < was walled in by authority — W.P.Webb >
 c. : to separate or shut out by means of or as if by means of a wall : partition — usually used with off
  < walled off half the house to make two apartments >
  < walled off their world … from the rest of human society — H.S.Truman >
 d. : to border or form a boundary on in the manner of a wall : bound
  < tall chestnut trees wall the broad avenue >
2.
 a. : to shut behind a wall : seal within or as if within walls : immure, incarcerate — usually used with up
  < had walled the monster up within the tomb — E.A.Poe >
  < compelled … to spend their time walling up this danger — Lillian Smith >
 b. : to seal up (an opening) with or as if with a wall
  < walled up the crevice — Oliver La Farge >
3. : to cover the walls of (a room) with something
 < this study is walled with books — Lucien Price >
Synonyms: see enclose
III. adjective
: of or relating to a wall : beside, attached to, or growing on a wall
 < wall cabinets >
 < a wall clock >
 < wall plants >
IV. verb
(-ed/-ing/-s)
Etymology: Middle English (Scots) wawlen, probably from Middle English wawil- (in wawil-eghed walleyed) — more at walleyed
transitive verb
: to roll (one's eyes) in or as if in expression of emotion
 < mooning about, … playacting and walling her eyes — Frances G. Patton >
intransitive verb
of the eyes : to roll in a dramatic manner
 < big eyes would wall up to the ceiling with a look of fear in them — Carson McCullers >
V. noun
(-s)
: wall knot
VI. noun

- up against the wall
- up the wall
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更新时间:2024/9/22 4:33:48