–noun

1.

any of various permanent upright constructions having a length much greater than the thickness and presenting a continuous surface except where pierced by doors, windows, etc.: used for shelter, protection, or privacy, or to subdivide interior space, to support floors, roofs, or the like, to retain earth, to fence in an area, etc.

2.	Usually, walls. a rampart raised for defensive purposes.

3.	an immaterial or intangible barrier, obstruction, etc., suggesting a wall: a wall of prejudice.

4.	a wall-like, enclosing part, thing, mass, etc.: a wall of fire; a wall of troops.

5.	an embankment to prevent flooding, as a levee or sea wall.

6.	the Wall. Berlin Wall.

7.	the outermost film or layer of structural material protecting, surrounding, and defining the physical limits of an object: the wall of a blood cell.

8.	Mining. a. the side of a level or drift. b. the overhanging or underlying side of a vein; a hanging wall or footwall.

–adjective

9.	of or pertaining to a wall: wall space.

10.	growing against or on a wall: wall plants; wall cress.

11.	situated, placed, or installed in or on a wall: wall oven; a wall safe.

–verb (used with object)

12.	to enclose, shut off, divide, protect, border, etc., with or as if with a wall (often fol. by in or off): to wall the yard; to wall in the play area; He is walled in by lack of opportunity.

13.	to seal or fill (a doorway or other opening) with a wall: to wall an unused entrance.

14.	to seal or entomb (something or someone) within a wall (usually fol. by up): The workmen had walled up the cat quite by mistake.

—Idioms

15.	climb the walls or climb walls, Slang. to become tense or frantic: climbing the walls with boredom.

16.	drive or push to the wall, to force into a desperate situation; humiliate or ruin completely: Not content with merely winning the match, they used every opportunity to push the inferior team to the wall.

17.	go over the wall, Slang. to break out of prison: Roadblocks have been set up in an effort to capture several convicts who went over the wall.

18.	go to the wall, a. to be defeated in a conflict or competition; yield. b. to fail in business, esp. to become bankrupt. c. to be put aside or forgotten. d. to take an extreme 3e8 and determined position or measure: I'd go to the wall to stop him from resigning.

19.	hit the wall, (of long-distance runners) to reach a point in a race, usually after 20 miles, when the body's fuels are virtually depleted and willpower becomes crucial to be able to finish.

20.	off the wall, Slang. a. beyond the realm of acceptability or reasonableness: The figure you quoted for doing the work is off the wall. b. markedly out of the ordinary; eccentric; bizarre: Some of the clothes in the fashion show were too off the wall for the average customer.

21.	up against the wall, a. d8c placed against a wall to be executed by a firing squad. b. in a crucial or critical position, esp. one in which defeat or failure seems imminent: Unless sales improve next month, the company will be up against the wall.

22.	up the wall, Slang. into an acutely frantic, frustrated, or irritated state: The constant tension in the office is driving everyone up the wall.

–noun

1.	an instrument for measuring and recording time, esp. by mechanical means, usually with hands or changing numbers to indicate the hour and minute: not designed to be worn or carried about.

2.	time clock.

3.	a meter or other device, as a speedometer or taximeter, for measuring and recording speed, distance covered, or other quantitative functioning.

4.	biological clock.

5.	(initial capital letter) Astronomy. the constellation Horologium.

6.	Computers. the circuit in a digital computer that provides a common ref 3e9 erence train of electronic pulses for all other circuits.

–verb (used with object)

7.	to time, test, or determine by means of a clock or watch: The racehorse was clocked at two minutes thirty seconds.

8.	Slang. to strike sharply or heavily: Somebody clocked him on the face.

—Verb phrases

9.	clock in, to begin work, esp. by punching a time clock: She clocked in at 9 on the dot.

10.	clock out, to end work, esp. by punching a time clock: He clocked out early yesterday.

—Idioms

11.	around the clock, a. during all 24 hours; ceaselessly. b. without stopping for rest; tirelessly: working around the clock to stem the epidemic.

12.	clean (someone's) clock, to defeat; vanquish.

13.	kill the clock, Sports. to use up as much game time as possible when one is winning, as to protect a lead in basketball, ice hockey, or football. Also, run out the clock.

14.	stop the clock, to postpone an official or legal deadline by ceasing to count the hours that elapse, as when a new union contract must be agreed upon before an old contract runs out.