(~s)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
A ~ is one of the vertical sides of a building or room.
Kathryn leaned against the ~ of the church...
The bedroom ~s would be painted light blue...
She checked the ~ clock.
N-COUNT
-~ed
...a glass-~ed elevator...
COMB in ADJ
2.
A ~ is a long narrow vertical structure made of stone or brick that surrounds or divides an area of land.
He sat on the ~ in the sun...
N-COUNT
3.
The ~ of something that is hollow is its side.
He ran his fingers along the inside ~s of the box.
N-COUNT: with supp
4.
A ~ of something is a large amount of it forming a high vertical barrier.
She gazed at the ~ of books...
I was just hit by a ~ of water.
N-COUNT: with supp, usu N of n
5.
You can describe something as a ~ of a particular kind when it acts as a barrier and prevents people from understanding something.
The police say they met the usual ~ of silence...
N-COUNT: with supp, usu N of n
6.
see also cavity ~ , dry-stone ~ , fly-on-the-~ , hole-in-the-~ , off-the-~ , retaining ~ , sea ~ , stone~ , ~-to-~
7.
If you say that you are banging your head against a ~, you are emphasizing that you are frustrated because someone is stopping you from making progress in something. (INFORMAL)
I appealed for help but felt I was always banging my head against a ~...
I wondered if I was banging my head against a brick ~.
PHRASE: V inflects, usu cont emphasis
8.
If you have your back to the ~, you are in a very difficult situation and can see no way out of it. (INFORMAL)
Their threat to hire replacement workers has the union with its back to the ~.
PHRASE: back inflects
9.
If you say that something or someone is driving you up the ~, you are emphasizing that they annoy and irritate you. (INFORMAL)
The heat is driving me up the ~...
I sang in the bath and drove my parents up the ~.
PHRASE: V inflects emphasis
10.
If a person or company goes to the ~, they lose all their money and their business fails. (INFORMAL)
Even quite big companies are going to the ~ these days.
PHRASE: V inflects
11.
fly on the ~: see fly
the writing is on the ~: see writing