# wallpaper

/ˈwɔɫˌpeɪpɝ/ (US) · /wˈɔːlpeɪpɐ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/wallpaper
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. wall covering

noun · CEFR A2

decorative paper used to cover the inside walls of a room.

For teachers: decorative paper-like material applied to the interior walls of buildings for aesthetic purposes.

- They spent the whole weekend putting up new wallpaper in the baby's room.
- The interior designer recommended a textured wallpaper to add depth to the room without overwhelming the minimalist furniture.

### 2. computer background

noun · CEFR A2

the image or pattern you see on your computer or phone screen.

For teachers: a digital image or pattern used as the background of a graphical user interface on a computer or mobile device.

- I changed my phone wallpaper to a photo of my dog.
- The operating system allows users to set a rotating gallery of high-resolution images as their desktop wallpaper.

### 3. background filler

noun · CEFR C1 · Informal

something that is always there in the background but you don't really notice it.

For teachers: anything that serves as a background or part of the surroundings, often perceived as unremarkable or repetitive.

- The music in the shopping mall was just boring wallpaper.
- The politician's speech was little more than rhetorical wallpaper, designed to fill time without making any concrete promises.

### 4. generic news footage

noun · CEFR C2 · Slang · Technical

simple video of a building or place used behind a news report.

For teachers: generic footage of a location used as a visual background for a related news broadcast.

- The news used some wallpaper of the hospital while the reporter talked about the new law.
- The editor inserted some generic wallpaper of the city skyline to cover the jump cut in the interview.

### 5. to apply wall paper

verb · CEFR B1

to put wallpaper onto a wall.

For teachers: to cover a surface, typically an interior wall, with decorative paper.

- It is much harder to wallpaper a ceiling than a wall.
- After stripping the old paint, they decided to wallpaper the hallway to hide the imperfections in the plaster.

Usage: The verb is transitive and requires a direct object representing the room or wall.

## Examples

- I chose a floral wallpaper for the bedroom.
- The living room looks much brighter now that we have replaced the dark wallpaper with a light cream pattern.
- While traditional interior design focuses on physical wallpaper textures, modern digital aesthetics often involve high-resolution wallpaper that shifts dynamically based on the time of day or system activity.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.