wall

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
wall/wɔːl/

▶noun

• 1 a continuous vertical brick or stone structure that encloses or divides an area of land.

  ■ a side of a building or room.

• 2 a protective or restrictive barrier likened to a wall: a wall of silence.

• 3 Soccer a line of defenders forming a barrier against a free kick taken near the penalty area.

• 4 Anatomy & Zoology the membranous outer layer or lining of an organ or cavity.

• 5 Mining the rock enclosing a lode or seam.

• 6 another term for wall brown.

▶verb enclose within walls.

■ (wall something up) block or seal a place by building a wall.

■ (wall someone in/up) confine someone in a restricted or sealed place.

– phrases
drive someone (or go) up the wall informal make someone (or become) very irritated or angry.
go to the wall informal (of a business) fail; go out of business.
hit the wall (of an athlete) experience a sudden loss of energy in a long race.
off the wall N. Amer. informal

• 1 eccentric or unconventional.

• 2 angry.

wall-to-wall (of a carpet) fitted to cover an entire floor.

■ informal very numerous or plentiful.

– derivatives
walling noun.

– origin OE: from L. vallum ‘rampart’, from vallus ‘stake’.