Definition of wallpaper

Short definition: The word wallpaper means a decorative cover for walls or a background image on a screen, and people often use it to personalize spaces, set a mood, or make rooms and devices feel more like their own.

Looking for a clear and natural explanation of the word wallpaper? The word wallpaper is used for the paper or material that covers walls in a room, usually for decoration. In modern life, it is also used for the background image on a phone, computer, or tablet screen. People talk about it when they want a space to look nicer, feel calmer, or match a certain style. Sometimes it even appears in casual speech as a metaphor for something that is only decoration. Below, each meaning is explained in a calm and natural way, so it feels clear, human, and easy to use.

Forms: wallpaper, wallpapers, wallpapered, wallpapering
Related: wall n., decorate v., background n.
Syllable: wall-pa-per

1. (Noun) Decorative paper or material used to cover and style the inside walls of a room.

   Wallpaper is paper or a thin decorative material that you stick to walls to change how a room looks, adding color, pattern, or texture without repainting, and it is often used to make a space feel warmer, cleaner, or more stylish.

   They chose soft patterned wallpaper for the living room because it made the space feel cozy without looking too busy.
   After years of plain paint, she finally added wallpaper to the bedroom to give it more personality and a calmer mood.
   The old wallpaper started peeling at the corners, so they planned a weekend to remove it and redecorate properly.

   Synonyms: wall covering, wall paper, decorative wall covering, wall lining, patterned covering, wall decoration, interior covering, wall material, wall design paper, wall wrap, room covering, decorative lining
   Antonyms: bare wall, plain wall, unpainted wall, exposed wall, raw wall surface, uncovered wall, naked wall, empty wall, no covering, plain surface, stripped wall, blank wall

2. (Verb) To cover a wall with decorative paper or material.

   To wallpaper a room means to put wallpaper on the walls, usually by measuring, cutting, applying paste or adhesive, and smoothing it so the wall looks neat and decorated.

   They decided to wallpaper the hallway to make it feel brighter and less empty when guests walked in.
   He learned how to wallpaper properly after messing up the first wall and realizing the patterns needed to line up.
   She spent the afternoon wallpapering the room carefully because she wanted the final look to be clean and professional.

   Synonyms: cover the wall, decorate the walls, apply wall covering, line the walls, paper the walls, add wall covering, finish the walls, dress the walls, coat the walls, wall cover, put up wallpaper, attach wall paper
   Antonyms: strip the walls, remove wallpaper, peel off, uncover, leave bare, expose the wall, scrape off, take down, remove covering, clean walls, leave plain, unpaper

3. (Noun) A background image on a phone computer or tablet screen.

   In modern tech use, a wallpaper is the picture or design you set as the background of your screen, usually chosen to match your style, mood, or aesthetic, and it can be a photo, a pattern, or an illustration.

   He changed his phone wallpaper to a beach photo because it made him feel calmer during a stressful week.
   She uses a simple dark wallpaper on her laptop so her icons are easy to see and the screen looks clean.
   Every season, they update their wallpaper with a new design to keep the device feeling fresh.

   Synonyms: background image, screen background, desktop background, phone background, lock screen image, home screen image, background picture, wallpaper image, background design, screen image, desktop image, backdrop
   Antonyms: blank background, plain screen, default background, empty screen, no image, solid color background, bare desktop, uncustomized screen, basic screen, no wallpaper, plain background, minimal screen

4. (Slang) Something that looks nice but does not really change what is underneath.

   In casual speech, people sometimes call something wallpaper when it is only decoration, meaning it makes things look better on the surface but does not fix deeper problems underneath.

   He said the new slogan was just wallpaper because the company still had the same problems behind the scenes.
   Adding more fancy words to the report felt like wallpaper when the real issue was the weak plan.
   She joked that the makeover was just wallpaper unless he also changed his habits and attitude.

   Synonyms: surface decoration, cosmetic change, window dressing, superficial fix, pretty cover, surface polish, decorative layer, shallow improvement, appearance boost, cosmetic layer, surface level change, outer layer
   Antonyms: real fix, deep change, true improvement, meaningful solution, structural repair, genuine progress, root cause solution, actual change, solid foundation, real work, effective action, lasting improvement