paper Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
  2. noun an essay (especially one written as an assignment)
    report; theme; composition.
    • he got an A on his composition
  3. noun a daily or weekly publication on folded sheets; contains news and articles and advertisements
    newspaper.
    • he read his newspaper at breakfast
  4. noun a medium for written communication
    • the notion of an office running without paper is absurd
  5. noun a scholarly article describing the results of observations or stating hypotheses
    • he has written many scientific papers
  6. noun a business firm that publishes newspapers
    newspaper; newspaper publisher.
    • Murdoch owns many newspapers
  7. noun the physical object that is the product of a newspaper publisher
    newspaper.
    • when it began to rain he covered his head with a newspaper
  8. verb cover with paper
    • paper the box
  9. verb cover with wallpaper
    wallpaper.

WordNet

Pa"per noun
Etymology
F. papier, fr. L. papyrus papyrus, from which the Egyptians made a kind of paper, Gr. . Cf. Papyrus.
Definitions
  1. A substance in the form of thin sheets or leaves intended to be written or printed on, or to be used in wrapping. It is made of rags, straw, bark, wood, or other fibrous material, which is first reduced to pulp, then molded, pressed, and dried.
  2. A sheet, leaf, or piece of such substance.
  3. A printed or written instrument; a document, essay, or the like; a writing; as, a paper read before a scientific society.
    They brought a paper to me to be signed. Dryden.
  4. A printed sheet appearing periodically; a newspaper; a journal; as, a daily paper.
  5. Negotiable evidences of indebtedness; notes; bills of exchange, and the like; as, the bank holds a large amount of his paper.
  6. Decorated hangings or coverings for walls, made of paper. See Paper hangings, below.
  7. A paper containing (usually) a definite quantity; as, a paper of pins, tacks, opium, etc.
  8. A medicinal preparation spread upon paper, intended for external application; as, cantharides paper. ✍ Paper is manufactured in sheets, the trade names of which, together with the regular sizes in inches, are shown in the following table. But paper makers vary the size somewhat. In the manufacture of books, etc., a sheet, of whatever size originally, is termed, when folded once, a folio; folded twice, a quarto, or 4to; three times, an octavo, or 8vo; four times, a sextodecimo, or 16mo; five times, a 32mo; three times, with an offcut folded twice and set in, a duodecimo, or 12mo; four times, with an offcut folded three times and set in, a 24mo. ✍ Paper is often used adjectively or in combination, having commonly an obvious signification; as, paper cutter or paper-cutter; paper knife, paper-knife, or paperknife; paper maker, paper-maker, or papermaker; paper mill or paper-mill; paper weight, paper-weight, or paperweight, etc. paper tiger, a person or group that appears to be powerful and dangerous but is in fact weak and ineffectual
Pa"per adjective
Definitions
  1. Of or pertaining to paper; made of paper; resembling paper; existing only on paper; unsubstantial; as, a paper box; a paper army.
Pa"per transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Papered; present participle & verbal noun Papering
Definitions
  1. To cover with paper; to furnish with paper hangings; as, to paper a room or a house.
  2. To fold or inclose in paper.
  3. To put on paper; to make a memorandum of. Obs.

Webster 1913