PAPER


Meaning of PAPER in English

/ ˈpeɪpə(r); NAmE / noun , verb

■ noun

FOR WRITING / WRAPPING

1.

[ U ] (often in compounds) the thin material that you write and draw on and that is also used for wrapping and packing things :

a piece / sheet of paper

a package wrapped in brown paper

recycled paper

She wrote her name and address on a slip (= a small piece) of paper .

Experience is more important for this job than paper qualifications (= that exist on paper, but may not have any real value) .

paper losses / profits (= that are shown in accounts but which may not exist in reality)

This journal is available in paper and electronic form.

—see also notepaper , wrapping paper , writing paper

NEWSPAPER

2.

[ C ] a newspaper :

a local / national paper

a daily / evening / Sunday paper

I read about it in the paper .

Have you seen today's paper?

The papers (= newspapers in general) soon got hold of the story.

DOCUMENTS

3.

papers [ pl. ] pieces of paper with writing on them, such as letters, pieces of work or private documents :

His desk was covered with books and papers.

4.

papers [ pl. ] official documents that prove your identity, give you permission to do sth, etc. :

divorce / identification papers

—see also walking papers , working paper

EXAM

5.

[ C ] ( BrE ) a set of exam questions on a particular subject; the answers that people write to the questions :

The Geography paper was hard.

She spent the evening marking exam papers.

ARTICLE

6.

[ C ] an academic article about a particular subject that is written by and for specialists :

a recent paper in the Journal of Medicine

She was invited to give a paper (= a talk) on the results of her research.

—see also Green Paper , Order Paper , position paper , White Paper , working paper (1)

7.

[ C ] ( NAmE ) a piece of written work done by a student :

Your grade will be based on four papers and a final exam.

—see also term paper

ON WALLS

8.

[ C , U ] paper that you use to cover and decorate the walls of a room :

The room was damp and the paper was peeling off.

HELP NOTE : There are many other compounds ending in paper . You will find them at their place in the alphabet.

IDIOMS

- on paper

—more at pen noun , worth adjective

■ verb

[ vn ] to decorate the walls of a room by covering them with wallpaper

PHRASAL VERBS

- paper over sth

••

WORD ORIGIN

Middle English : from Anglo-Norman French papir , from Latin papyrus paper-reed, from Greek papuros The verb dates from the late 16th cent.

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.