(redirected from off-the-wall)


in architecture, protective, enclosing, or dividing vertical structure. Its thickness is determined by the material, height, and stress. It may be of studding and lath, either boarded or plastered; adobe; rammed earthrammed earth,
material consisting chiefly of soil of sufficiently stiff consistency that has been placed in forms and pounded down. It has been used for buildings and walls since ancient times and was employed in some of the most ancient fortifications in the Middle East.
..... Click the link for more information.
; brickwork or stonework; concrete; tile; or of steel in combination with one or more of the preceding materials. The wall serves two functions. A bearing wall is used as a support, e.g., for the floors and roof. Usually raised on foundations, it is thicker at the bottom than at the top and is often buttressed. A nonbearing wall, such as a partition screenscreen,
..... Click the link for more information.
 or curtain wall, is used to separate and define spaces and is generally much thinner. A party wall is one common to two adjoining buildings, and a gable wall is one at right angles to the roof ridge. A fire wall, or bulkhead, separates hazardous equipment from the rest of a structure to prevent the spreading of fire; in ships the bulkhead is also watertight. The front wall or face of a building is termed the facadefacade
, exterior face or wall of a building. The term implies ordered placement of its openings and other features and thus seems inapplicable to a wall without design. Any freestanding structure may have four or more facades, designated by their orientation (e.g.
..... Click the link for more information.
. Exterior walls may be finished with stuccostucco
, in architecture, a term loosely applied to various kinds of plasterwork, both exterior and interior. It now commonly refers to a plaster or cement used for the external coating of buildings, most frequently employed in Mediterranean countries.
..... Click the link for more information.
 or graffitograffito
. 1 Method of ornamenting architectural plaster surfaces. The designs are produced by scratching a topcoat of plaster to reveal an undercoat of contrasting and deeper color.
..... Click the link for more information.
 and enhanced by bas-relief, tile, mosaic, or painted decoration. Arcade, rustication, and vermiculated work are means of ornamenting brick and stone masonry. In engineering a retaining wall either of CyclopeanCyclopean
..... Click the link for more information.
 or of wet masonry protects an embankment from washing; a sea wall, or breakwaterbreakwater,
offshore structure to protect a harbor from wave energy or deflect currents. When it also serves as a pier, it is called a quay; when covered by a roadway it is called a mole.
..... Click the link for more information.
, is for harbor protection; and a damdam,
barrier, commonly across a watercourse, to hold back water, often forming a reservoir or lake; dams are also sometimes used to control or contain rockslides, mudflows, and the like in regions where these are common.
..... Click the link for more information.
 is an earth, masonry, or concrete wall to stop the natural flow of a stream to conserve a water supply or create power. The defensive walls of a city or other political division (see Great Wall of ChinaGreat Wall of China,
..... Click the link for more information.
) are frequently two or three concentric ramparts, often including fortificationfortification,
..... Click the link for more information.
 and watchtowers. Great portals form the gateways. Notable walls of antiquity were those of Thebes, Troy, Jericho, and Babylon; an example of a medieval wall is that at Carcassonne in France.


A structure that encloses or subdivides a space with a continuous surface; except where fenestration or other openings occur.

balloon frame wall

A system of framing a wooden building wherein the exterior bearing walls and partitions consists of single studs that extend the full height of the frame from the top of the soleplate to the roof plate.

bearing wall

Supports any vertical load in addition to its own weight.

cant wall

A wall canted in elevation from true vertical.

cantilever retaining wall

A wall retaining soil that acts as a cantilevered beam as opposed to one acting as a continuous beam spanning between supports.

cavity wall

An exterior wall, usually of masonry, consisting of an outer course and an inner course separated by a continuous air space connected by metal ties.

curtain wall

A method of construction in which all building loads are transmitted to a metal skeleton frame, so that the non-load-bearing exterior walls of metal and glass are simply a protective cladding.

exterior wall

A wall that is part of the envelope of a building thereby having one face exposed to the weather or to earth.

fire wall

Any fire-resistant wall that separates one building from another or that subdivides a large building into smaller spaces; it is usually continuous from the foundations extending above the roof.

foundation wall

A wall below, or partly below grade, to provide support for the exterior walls or other parts of the structure.

gable wall

A wall which continues to the roofline on the gable end of a structure.

gravity retaining wall

Retaining wall that relies on the weight of the masonry or concrete for its stability.



(or longwall), in mining, an underground mine working with a long working face, in which minerals are extracted. Its length may be 25–350 m or more, depending on the mining and geologic conditions and the system of exploitation of the deposit. In the USSR (1971), about 70 percent of the annual coal output is mined by the longwall system. The cutting, loading, and transportation of coal has been fully mechanized in 85 percent of all longwall systems in the USSR (1971). The term “wall” (in Russian, lava) was first used in the mines of the Donbas; it was first used in literature in A. I. Kuprin’s short story “In the Bowels of the Earth” (1899).



the principal enclosing member of a building. Walls not only serve as partitions but also have some load-bearing functions, since they are used as supports that accept vertical and horizontal loads. The major requirements of walls are strength, heat retention, noise insulation, fire resistance, durability, acceptable appearance, and economy.

A distinction is made between exterior and interior walls. According to their structural behavior, exterior walls are classified as (1) bearing walls, which, in addition to their own weight, accept loads from roofs, floors, and wind pressure and transfer these loads to the foundation, (2) shear walls, which rest on the foundation and support the load only of their own weight (throughout the floors of the building) and which are attached to the frame of the building to provide stability, and (3) nonbearing walls (including curtain walls), which support their own weight only within a single floor and transfer the load to the frame or other supporting members of the building.

Interior walls may be bearing or nonbearing. Nonbearing interior walls, or partitions, are designed only to separate rooms from one another; they are installed directly on floors. Ducting and chases for ventilation and gas, water, and plumbing lines are often incorporated in interior walls. Bearing walls, roofs, and floors form a stable three-dimensional system of the frame of a building. In frame structures, shear walls often act as diaphragms to provide lateral support.

Prefabricated, monolithic, and manually raised walls differ in the method used to erect them. Prefabricated walls are assembled from factory-prepared elements. Monolithic walls, usually made of concrete, are cast in place with movable or sliding form-work. Manually raised walls consist of small blocks of some building material set in mortar. Large-block and large-panel prefabricated walls differ in size of their prefabricated elements, the degree of factory prefabrication, and the system used for their sectioning. Single-layer and multilayer walls differ in their structural design.

The choice of materials used for walls depends on climatic conditions, the purpose and required strength of the building, the number of stories, and technical and economic considerations. Bearing walls in multistory buildings are made of brick, ceramic blocks, large blocks of lightweight and cellular concrete, reinforced-concrete panels, and other large-size components. Non-bearing walls must have minimum weight; they are made from multilayer reinforced-concrete panels with efficient thermal insulation and from panels made of especially lightweight concrete and asbestos cement. Wood, silica and unfired brick, slag-concrete and ceramic blocks, and natural stone are used in low-rise buildings.

To a large extent, walls determine the structural design and overall appearance of a building. The wall material used often denotes the building’s architectural and structural classification: large-panel, large-block, brick, log, and frame-panel.


Konstruktsii grazhdanskikh zdanii. Edited by M. S. Tupolev. Moscow, 1968.
Konstruktsii promyshlennykh zdanii. Edited by A. N. Popov. Moscow, 1972.


What does it mean when you dream about a wall?

Dreaming about a wall could be about our defensiveness, or a dream wall could represent a sense of security. The term “wall” is also central to many idioms, and the dream could be drawing on the meaning of one of these, such as: the “writing on the wall,” “off the wall,” our “back against the wall,” “talking to a brick wall,” or “hitting one’s head against the wall.”


A vertical structure or member forming an enclosure or defining a space.
The side of a cave passage.
(mining engineering)
The side of a level or drift.
The country rock bounding a vein laterally.
The face of a longwall working or stall, commonly called coal wall.


1. A structure which serves to enclose or subdivide a building, usually presenting a continuous surface except where penetrated by doors, windows, and the like.
2. A rampart.


1. Anatomy any lining, membrane, or investing part that encloses or bounds a bodily cavity or structure
2. Mountaineering a vertical or almost vertical smooth rock face


Unix's "write all" command which sends a message to everyone currently logged in.


Walls as dream images are generally considered obstacles and sources of isolation or confinement. Some people are emotionally guarded and feel unable to express themselves freely. If you are such a person, this dream symbol might be pointing to the walls that you have built around yourself. Additionally, if you are experiencing challenges and seemingly impenetrable difficulties in daily life, the wall in your dream may be a reflection of those factors. Consider your current situation and attempt to identify the source of the walls in your dream. Climbing the wall suggests that you are becoming prepared for or are able to overcome difficulties and/or challenges.
References in periodicals archive ?
Whether it's a trenchant monologue from a serious play, an off-the-wall comic skit, an athletic dancer twirling in the air, a chance to see an acclaimed painting by a master, the infectious melody from a pop star, a breathtaking aria, a heartbreaking violin solo, a tasty riff by a jazz pianist or a simple folk tune played on an acoustic guitar, there is something exhilarating about just being there.
Complementing Babe's off-the-wall zaniness are Ford's dead-on portrayal of ever-harried Lenny and Niznik, whose Meg exudes a fascinating balance of sensuality, insecurity, deep affection and raging narcissism.
Today, Carrot Top takes his off-the-wall silliness on the road for an astonishing 15 week run at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and more than 100 additional concerts across the country, as well as dozens of television appearances throughout the year.
Off-the-wall supertalent Steve Oedekerk, who's now pinning down deal points to make his ``The Dubbed Action Movie'' spoof, on which he'll serve as writer, producer, director and star, is looking forward to being in control of his output.
While his wit may never get him his own talk show, his bemused observations on everything from wrestlers to turkeys and off-the-wall riffs gave the concert a relaxed atmosphere.