- a substance made from wood pulp, rags, straw, or other fibrous material, usually in thin sheets, used to bear writing or printing, for wrapping things, etc.
- a piece, sheet, or leaf of this.
- something resembling this substance, as papyrus.
- a written or printed document or the like.
- stationery; writing paper.
- a newspaper or journal.
- an essay, article, or dissertation on a particular topic: a paper on early Mayan artifacts.
- a document establishing or verifying identity, status, or the like:citizenship papers.
- negotiable notes, bills, etc., as commercial paper or paper money: Only silver, please, no paper.
- a promissory note.
- papers,
- wallpaper.
- toilet paper.
- a sheet or card of paper with pins or needles stuck through it in rows.
- a set of questions for an examination, an individual set of written answers to them, or any written piece of schoolwork.
- a free pass to an entertainment.
- to cover with wallpaper or apply wallpaper to: They papered the bedroom last summer.
- to line or cover with paper.
- to distribute handbills, posters, etc., throughout: to paper a neighborhood with campaign literature.
- to fold, enclose, or wrap in paper.
- to supply with paper.
- to deluge with documents, especially those requiring one to comply with certain technical procedures, as a means of legal harassment: He papered the plaintiff to force a settlement.
- to fill (a theater or the like) with spectators by giving away free tickets or passes.
- Archaic.
- to write or set down on paper.
- to describe in writing.
- to apply wallpaper to walls.
- made of paper or paperlike material: a paper bag.
- paperlike; thin, flimsy, or frail.
- of, relating to, or noting routine clerical duties.
- pertaining to or carried on by means of letters, articles, books, etc.: a paper war.
- written or printed on paper.
- existing in theory or principle only and not in reality: paper profits.
- indicating the first event of a series, as a wedding anniversary.
- including many patrons admitted on free passes, as an audience for a theatrical performance: It's a paper house tonight.
- to patch up or attempt to conceal (a difference, disagreement, etc.) so as to preserve a friendship, present a unified opinion, etc.: to paper over a dispute.
- on paper,
- in written or printed form.
- in theory rather than in practice.
- existing only in a preliminary state; in a plan or design: The university building program is still only on paper.
- a substance made from cellulose fibres derived from rags, wood, etc, often with other additives, and formed into flat thin sheets suitable for writing on, decorating walls, wrapping, etc
- a single piece of such material, esp if written or printed on
- documents for establishing the identity of the bearer; credentials
- official documents relating to the ownership, cargo, etc, of a ship
- collected diaries, letters, etc
- See newspaper, wallpaper
- government See white paper, green paper, command paper
- a lecture or short published treatise on a specific subject
- a short essay, as by a student
- a set of written examination questions
- the student's answers
- commerce See commercial paper
- a free ticket
- in theory, as opposed to fact
- made of paper
- thin like paper
- existing only as recorded on paper but not yet in practice
- taking place in writing
- to cover (walls) with wallpaper
- to cover or furnish with paper
- to fill (a performance) by giving away free tickets (esp in the phrase paper the house)
