wallpaper
gb/wˈɔlpˌeɪpɚ/ us/wˈɔlpˌeɪpɚ/
A2
English
~ 3700
Senses
0 senses
Noun
A2
entity
1
Paper or material on walls
Paper or material put on walls to make them look nice.
Usage pattern:
[someone] puts wallpaper on [a wall]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'wallpaper' with 'wall paint'; wallpaper is a physical covering, not a liquid coating.
Synonyms
wallcovering (A broader term that includes wallpaper and other materials for covering walls.)
Antonyms
bare wall (Refers to a wall without any covering or decoration.)
Collocations
striped wallpaper
|floral wallpaper
|peel off wallpaper
|hang wallpaper
|remove wallpaper
Themes
home
|interior design
|daily life
|housing
|arts_entertainment
|daily_life
Examples
- She chose a floral wallpaper for the living room.
- The old wallpaper was peeling off in several places.
- They hired a decorator to hang new wallpaper in the hallway.
- The kitchen's wallpaper has a bright, modern pattern.
- Removing the wallpaper revealed the original brick wall.
Learner examples
- The wallpaper in my room is blue.
- We put new wallpaper in the kitchen.
- The wallpaper has flowers on it.
- He takes down the old wallpaper.
- I see nice wallpaper in the shop.
Noun
A2
entity
2
Background image on device screen
A picture or design that appears behind icons on a computer, phone, or tablet.
Usage pattern:
[someone] sets [an image] as wallpaper
Common mistake:
Some learners confuse 'wallpaper' with 'screensaver'; a screensaver is an animation or image that appears when the device is idle, not the background image.
Synonyms
background image (More descriptive and technical; refers specifically to the image shown behind other elements on a screen.)
Antonyms
blank background (Refers to having no image, just a plain color as the background.)
Collocations
desktop wallpaper
|phone wallpaper
|change wallpaper
|download wallpaper
|set wallpaper
Themes
technology
|computers
|daily life
|communication
|daily_life
Examples
- I set a photo of my dog as my phone's wallpaper.
- The new operating system comes with several beautiful wallpapers.
- He changed his desktop wallpaper to a mountain scene.
- You can download free wallpapers from many websites.
- Her tablet's wallpaper is a picture of her family.
Learner examples
- My phone has a cat as its wallpaper.
- I change my computer wallpaper every week.
- This is my favorite wallpaper for my laptop.
- I see a nice wallpaper on your screen.
- He puts a beach picture as his wallpaper.
Grammar
Expressions
wallpaper over the cracks
1/wˈɔlpˌeɪpɚ ˈoʊvɚ ðə kɹˈæks/
idiom
Hide problems without solving them
To make something look better by covering problems instead of fixing them.
Examples
- The new policy wallpapers over the cracks in the education system but doesn't address the real issues.
- They tried to wallpaper over the cracks in their marriage by taking a vacation.