paper

papers; papered; papering

Paper is the thin, flexible material you doodle on during math class. It's also paper that you fold carefully into the shape of an airplane before launching it across the classroom.

If you've ever ripped a sheet of paper or crumpled one into a ball, it might be hard to believe that it comes from trees — wood pulp, to be exact. The history of paper is long, dating as far back as the second century BCE in China. Paper can also mean "newspaper," or "essay," and as a verb it means "cover with paper." You might, for example, decide to paper your bedroom walls with colorful pieces of paper.

Definitions of paper
  1. noun
    a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
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    types:
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    card
    one of a set of small pieces of stiff paper marked in various ways and used for playing games or for telling fortunes
    confetti
    small pieces or streamers of colored paper that are thrown around on festive occasions (as at a wedding)
    piece of paper, sheet, sheet of paper
    paper used for writing or printing
    art paper
    a high-quality paper (usually having a filler of china clay)
    blotter, blotting paper
    absorbent paper used to dry ink
    blueprint paper
    sensitized paper used to make blueprints
    carbon, carbon paper
    a thin paper coated on one side with a dark waxy substance (often containing carbon); used to transfer characters from the original to an under sheet of paper
    cardboard, composition board
    a stiff moderately thick paper
    cartridge paper
    paper for making cartridge cases
    chad
    a small piece of paper that is supposed to be removed when a hole is punched in a card or paper tape
    computer paper
    paper folded to permit continuous printing controlled by a computer
    construction paper
    paper suitable for drawing and making cutouts
    crepe, crepe paper
    paper with a crinkled texture; usually colored and used for decorations
    drawing paper
    paper that is specially prepared for use in drafting
    filter paper
    a porous unsized paper used for filtering
    flypaper
    paper that is poisoned or coated with a sticky substance to kill flies
    graph paper
    paper that has lines to permit drawing graphs
    greaseproof paper
    paper that is impermeable to oil or grease; used in cooking
    linen, linen paper
    a high-quality paper made of linen fibers or with a linen finish
    litmus paper
    unsized paper treated with litmus for use as an acid-base indicator
    manifold, manifold paper
    a lightweight paper used with carbon paper to make multiple copies
    manila, manila paper, manilla, manilla paper
    a strong paper or thin cardboard with a smooth light brown finish made from e.g. Manila hemp
    music paper, score paper
    paper with lines appropriate for writing music
    newspaper, newsprint
    cheap paper made from wood pulp and used for printing newspapers
    oilpaper
    paper that has been made translucent and waterproof by soaking in oil
    india paper
    a thin tough opaque paper used in fine books
    pad, pad of paper, tablet
    a number of sheets of paper fastened together along one edge
    paper tape
    a long narrow strip of paper
    paper toweling
    absorbent paper used as toweling
    paper-mache, papier-mache
    a substance made from paper pulp that can be molded when wet and painted when dry
    papyrus
    paper made from the papyrus plant by cutting it in strips and pressing it flat; used by ancient Egyptians and Greeks and Romans
    parchment
    a superior paper resembling sheepskin
    rice paper
    a thin delicate material resembling paper; made from the rice-paper tree
    roofing paper, tar paper
    a heavy paper impregnated with tar and used as part of a roof for waterproofing
    ticker tape
    a continuous thin ribbon of paper on which stock quotes are written
    tissue, tissue paper
    a soft thin (usually translucent) paper
    tracing paper
    a semitransparent paper that is used for tracing drawings
    transfer paper
    a paper that is coated with a preparation for transferring a design to another surface
    wallpaper
    a decorative paper for the walls of rooms
    waste paper
    paper discarded after use
    wax paper
    paper that has been waterproofed by treatment with wax or paraffin
    wrapping paper
    a tough paper used for wrapping
    writing paper
    paper material made into thin sheets that are sized to take ink; used for writing correspondence and manuscripts
    decal, decalcomania
    either a design that is fixed to some surface or a paper bearing the design which is to be transferred to the surface
    playing card
    one of a pack of cards that are used to play card games
    Hollerith card, punch card, punched card
    a card on which data can be recorded in the form of punched holes
    slip, slip of paper
    a small sheet of paper
    tarot, tarot card
    any of a set of (usually 72) cards that include 22 cards representing virtues and vices and death and fortune etc.; used by fortunetellers
    trading card
    a card with a picture on it; collected and traded by children
    signature
    a sheet with several pages printed on it; it folds to page size and is bound with other signatures to form a book
    folio, leaf
    a sheet of any written or printed material (especially in a manuscript or book)
    tear sheet
    a sheet that can be easily torn out of a publication
    letter paper, stationery
    paper cut to an appropriate size for writing letters; usually with matching envelopes
    notepaper
    writing paper intended for writing short notes or letters
    foolscap
    a size of paper used especially in Britain
    style sheet
    a sheet summarizing the editorial conventions to be followed in preparing text for publication
    worksheet
    a sheet of paper with multiple columns; used by an accountant to assemble figures for financial statements
    revenue stamp, stamp
    a small piece of adhesive paper that is put on an object to show that a government tax has been paid
    rag paper
    paper made partly or wholly from rags
    binder board, binder's board
    a cardboard used by bookbinders to make covers for books
    bond, bond paper
    a superior quality of strong durable white writing paper; originally made for printing documents
    cartridge paper
    thick white paper for pencil and ink drawings
    card
    thin cardboard, usually rectangular
    corrugated board, corrugated cardboard
    cardboard with corrugations (can be glued to flat cardboard on one or both sides)
    paperboard, poster board, posterboard
    a cardboard suitable for making posters
    pasteboard
    stiff cardboard made by pasting together layers of paper
    strawboard
    a coarse yellow cardboard made of straw pulp
    cigarette paper, rolling paper
    a strong tissue paper that burns evenly and is sufficiently porous to control the burning of the tobacco in a cigarette
    dimple, dimpled chad, pregnant chad
    a chad that has been punched or dimpled but all four corners are still attached
    facial tissue
    tissue paper suitable for use on the face
    kraft, kraft paper
    strong wrapping paper made from pulp processed with a sulfur solution
    butcher paper
    a strong wrapping paper that resists penetration by blood or meat fluids
    gift wrap
    attractive wrapping paper suitable for wrapping gifts
    hanging chad
    a chad that is incompletely removed and hanging by one corner
    Kleenex
    a piece of soft absorbent paper (usually two or more thin layers) used as a disposable handkerchief
    ledger paper
    a durable writing paper used in record books and business ledgers
    laid paper
    writing paper having a watermark of fine lines running across the grain
    wove paper
    writing paper having a very faint mesh pattern
    letter paper
    writing paper for use in writing correspondence
    message pad, writing pad
    a pad of paper on which messages can be written
    ola, olla
    leaf or strip from a leaf of the talipot palm used in India for writing paper
    notepad
    a pad of paper for keeping notes
    swinging chad
    a chad that is incompletely removed and still attached at two corners
    bathroom tissue, toilet paper, toilet tissue
    a soft thin absorbent paper for use in toilets
    tri-chad
    a chad that is incompletely removed and still attached at three corners
    typewriter paper, typing paper
    writing paper suitable for use in a typewriter
    vellum
    a heavy creamy-colored paper resembling parchment
    type of:
    material, stuff
    the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object
  2. noun
    a medium for written communication
    “the notion of an office running without paper is absurd”
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    type of:
    medium
    a means or instrumentality for storing or communicating information
  3. verb
    cover with paper
    “paper the box”
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    type of:
    cover
    provide with a covering or cause to be covered
  4. verb
    cover with wallpaper
    synonyms: wallpaper
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    type of:
    cover
    provide with a covering or cause to be covered
  5. noun
    an essay (especially one written as an assignment)
    synonyms: composition, report, theme
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    types:
    term paper
    a composition intended to indicate a student's progress during a school term
    type of:
    essay
    an analytic or interpretive literary composition
  6. noun
    a scholarly article describing the results of observations or stating hypotheses
    “he has written many scientific papers”
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    type of:
    article
    nonfictional prose forming an independent part of a publication
  7. noun
    a daily or weekly publication on folded sheets; contains news and articles and advertisements
    synonyms: newspaper
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    types:
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    daily
    a newspaper that is published every day
    gazette
    a newspaper or official journal
    school newspaper, school paper
    a newspaper written and published by students in a school
    rag, sheet, tabloid
    newspaper with half-size pages
    type of:
    press, public press
    the print media responsible for gathering and publishing news in the form of newspapers or magazines
  8. noun
    the physical object that is the product of a newspaper publisher
    synonyms: newspaper
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    type of:
    product, production
    an artifact that has been created by someone or some process
  9. noun
    a business firm that publishes newspapers
    synonyms: newspaper, newspaper publisher
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    type of:
    publisher, publishing company, publishing firm, publishing house
    a firm in the publishing business
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘paper'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
Word Family

Vocabulary lists containing paper

Common Core Grade 5, List 4

Vocabulary is key to performing well on Common Core-aligned tests for English Language Arts as well as for building literacy in social studies, science, and technical subjects. This collection features common tier-2 words that are taught and tested at every grade level. These words are used in a variety of contexts, exhibit different shades of meaning based on those contexts, and appear commonly in classroom instruction and on standardized assessments. Here are links to our lists for the collection: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5, List 6, List 7, List 8

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