paper /pāˈpər/

1. A material made in thin sheets as an aqueous deposit from linen rags, esparto, wood pulp, or other form of cellulose, used for writing on, printing on, wrapping, and other purposes
2. Extended to other materials of similar purpose or appearance, eg to papyrus, rice-paper, to the substance of which some wasps build their nests, to cardboard, and even to tinfoil (‘silver paper’)
3. A piece of paper
4. A written or printed document or instrument, note, receipt, bill, bond, deed, etc
5. (in pl) documents, esp for the purpose of personal identification, customs or passport controls, etc
6. A newspaper
7. An essay or literary contribution, esp one read before a society or submitted for a degree examination
8. A set of examination questions
9. Free passes of admission to a theatre, etc, also the people so admitted
10. Paper money
11. Stocks and shares (stock exchange sl)
12. Wallpaper
13. A wrapping of paper
14. A quantity of anything wrapped in or attached to a paper

1. Consisting or made of paper
2. Papery
3. On paper

1. To cover with paper
2. To fold in paper
3. To treat in any way by means of any type of paper, eg to sandpaper, etc
4. To paste endpapers and fly-leaves to

paˈperer noun

paˈpering noun

1. The operation of covering with paper
2. The paper so used

paˈperless adjective

Using esp electronic means instead of paper for communication, recording, etc

paˈpery adjective

Like paper

paˈperback noun

A book with a flexible paper cover (also adjective)

transitive verb

To publish in paperback form

paˈperbark noun

An Australian myrtaceous tree (Melaleuca leucodendron) with papery bark, the source of cajuput

paˈper-birchˈ noun

An American birch with papery bark

paˈperboard noun

1. A type of strong, thick cardboard
2. Pasteboard

paˈperbound noun

A paperback (also adjective)

paˈperboy or paˈpergirl noun

A boy or girl who delivers newspapers

paˈper-case noun

A box for writing materials, etc

paper chase noun

1. The game of hare and hounds, in which some runners (hares) set off across country strewing paper by which others (hounds) track them
2. An investigation or process involving examination of many documents

paˈper-cigarˈ noun (obsolete)

A cigarette

paper clip noun

1. A clip of bent wire or the like, for holding papers together
2. A letter-clip

paˈper-cloth noun

A fabric prepared in the Pacific islands from the inner bark of the paper mulberry

paˈper-coal noun

A lignite that splits into thin layers

paˈper-credˈit noun

Credit given to a person on the strength of their providing proof of being owed money by a third party

paˈper-cutter noun

1. A paperknife
2. A guillotine
3. A machine for cutting paper in sheets, for trimming the edges of books, etc

paˈper-day noun (law)

One of certain days in each term for hearing cases down in the paper or roll of business

paˈper-enamˈel noun

An enamel for cards and fine note-paper

paper engineering noun

The technique of making pop-up books, etc

paˈper-faced adjective (Shakespeare)

1. Having a thin face like a sheet of paper
2. Faced with paper

paper fastener noun

A button with two blades that can be forced through papers and bent back to hold the sheets together

paˈper-feeder noun

An apparatus for delivering sheets of paper to a printing press, etc

paˈper-file noun

An appliance for filing papers

paˈper-folder noun

A folder (2nd sense)

paˈper-gauge noun

A rule for measuring the typeface of matter to be printed, and the width of the margin

paˈperhanger noun

1. A professional hanger of wallpaper
2. A person who makes or deals in forged cheques (US sl)

paˈperhangings plural noun

Paper for covering walls

paˈperknife noun

A thin, flat blade for cutting open the leaves of books, other folded papers, or used as a letter-opener

paper-mâchˈé noun

Papier-mâché

paˈper-maker noun

A manufacturer of paper

paˈper-making noun

paˈper-marˈbler noun

Someone engaged in marbling paper

paper mill noun

A mill where paper is made

paper money noun

Banknotes, pieces of paper stamped or marked by government or by a bank, as representing a certain value of money, which pass from hand to hand instead of the coin itself

paper mulberry noun

A tree (Broussonetia papyrifera) of E Asia and Polynesia, of the mulberry family, whose inner bark yields tapa cloth and paper-making material

paˈper-musˈlin noun

A glazed muslin

paper nautilus noun

The argonaut (see under nautilus)

paˈper-offˈice noun

An office where state papers are kept

paper profits plural noun

The appreciation in value of a bond, share, etc

paˈper-pulp noun

Pulpy material for making paper

paˈper-pushˈer noun (derog sl)

A clerk, esp in a humble or humdrum position

paˈper-reed noun

The papyrus

paper round or (N American) paper route noun

(the job of making) a regular series of newspaper deliveries

paˈper-rulˈer noun

A person who, or an instrument which, makes straight lines on paper

paˈper-sailˈor noun

An argonaut

paˈper-stainˈer noun

1. A person who prepares paperhangings
2. A poor author, scribbler (derogatory informal)

paper tape noun (computing)

A paper data-recording tape, which records information by means of punched holes

paper tape punch noun

A machine that perforates paper tape

paper tape reader noun

A device that senses and translates the holes punched in a paper tape into machine-processable form

paˈper-thin adjective

1. Very thin
2. Flimsy

paper tiger noun

A person or organization that appears to be powerful but is in fact not

paper trail noun

A sequence of documents that can be followed, eg in a criminal investigation

paˈperware noun

Items made of paper, eg books, manuals, packaging, etc

paˈper-washˈing noun (photography)

Water in which prints have been washed

paper wasp noun

A large wasp (Polistes) that builds a papery nest from wood pulp

paˈperweight noun

A small often decorative weight for keeping loose papers from being displaced

paˈperwork noun

1. Clerical work
2. The keeping of records as part of a job
3. Documents

on paper

1. Planned, decreed, existing, etc in theory only
2. Apparently, judging by statistics, but perhaps not in fact

paper over (the cracks in)

To create the impression that there is or has been no dissent, error, or fault in (something doubtful)

• hierocrats
• hierodule
• hierodules
• hieroglyph
• first-days
• first degree burn
• first degree murder
• first fight
• first finger
• first fingers
• first fix
• first fixes
• first floor
• first-floor
• first flush
• first-foot
• first-footed
• first-footer
• first-footers
• first-footing
• first-foots
• first-fruit
• first-fruits
• first gear
• first generation