What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Wall vs Shelter - What's the difference?

wall | shelter | Related terms |

As nouns the difference between wall and shelter

is that wall is a rampart of earth, stones etc. built up for defensive purposes while shelter is a refuge, haven or other cover or protection from something.

As verbs the difference between wall and shelter

is that wall is to enclose with a wall while shelter is to provide cover from damage or harassment; to shield; to protect.

As a proper noun Wall

is {{surname|lang=en}.

wall

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) (m), from (etyl) . More at (l), (l).

Noun

(en noun)
  • A rampart of earth, stones etc. built up for defensive purposes.
  • A structure built for defense surrounding a city, castle etc.
  • :
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-08, volume=407, issue=8839, page=52, magazine=(The Economist)
    • , title= The new masters and commanders , passage=From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away.}}
  • Each of the substantial structures acting either as the exterior of or divisions within a structure.
  • :
  • *, chapter=7
    • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=[…] St.?Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London. Close-packed, crushed by the buttressed height of the railway viaduct, rendered airless by huge walls of factories, it at once banished lively interest from a stranger's mind and left only a dull oppression of the spirit.}}
  • *{{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
    • , chapter=14 citation , passage=Nanny Broome was looking up at the outer wall . Just under the ceiling there were three lunette windows, heavily barred and blacked out in the normal way by centuries of grime.}}
  • A point of desperation.
  • A point of defeat or extinction.
  • An impediment to free movement.
  • :
  • A type of butterfly (Lasiommata megera ).
  • A barrier.
  • :
  • A barrier to vision.
  • Something with the apparent solidity and dimensions of a building wall.
  • :
  • A divisive or containing structure in an organ or cavity.
  • *
  • *:The epidermal cells of the capsule wall of Jubulopsis'', with nodose "trigones" at the angles, are very reminiscent of what one finds in ''Frullania spp.
  • (lb) A fictional bidder used to increase the price at an auction. Also called a chandelier.
  • (lb) A line of defenders set up between an opposing free-kick taker and the goal.
  • *{{quote-news, year=2011, date=January 23, author=Alistair Magowan, work=BBC
    • , title= Blackburn 2-0 West Brom , passage=Blackburn were the recipients of another dose of fortune when from another Thomas pass Odemwingie was brought down by Jones inside the penalty area, but referee Mark Clattenburg awarded a free-kick which Chris Brunt slammed into the wall .}}
  • (lb) A personal notice board listing messages of interest to a particular user.
    • Synonyms
    * (fictional bidder at an auction) chandelier

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To enclose with a wall
    • He walled the study with books.
  • To enclose by surrounding with walls.
    • They had walled in the garden
  • To separate with a wall
    • The previous owners had walled off two rooms, making an apartment.
  • To seal with a wall
    • They walled up the basement space that had been used as a coal bin.

    Derived terms

    * abdominal wall * bounce off the walls * blue wall of silence * brick wall * cell wall * climb the walls * diaphragm wall * drywall * firewall * hole-in-the-wall * paywall * retaining wall * stonewall, stone wall * up the walls * wall clock * wall fan * wall in * wall off * wall of silence * wallpaper * walls have ears * wall up * wall unit

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) (m), from (etyl) . See also (l).

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To boil.
  • To well, as water; spring.
    • Related terms
    * (l) * (l)

    Etymology 3

    From (etyl) (m), from (etyl) *.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (chiefly, dialectal) A spring of water.

    • Etymology 4

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (nautical) A kind of knot often used at the end of a rope; a wall knot or wale.

    • Statistics

    *

    Anagrams

    * ----

    shelter

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A refuge, haven or other cover or protection from something.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1928, author=Lawrence R. Bourne
    • , title=Well Tackled! , chapter=7 citation , passage=The detective kept them in view. He made his way casually along the inside of the shelter until he reached an open scuttle close to where the two men were standing talking. Eavesdropping was not a thing Larard would have practised from choice, but there were times when, in the public interest, he had to do it, and this was one of them.}}
  • An institution that provides temporary housing for homeless people, battered women etc.

    • Derived terms

    * bus shelter

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To provide cover from damage or harassment; to shield; to protect.
  • * Dryden
    • Those ruins sheltered once his sacred head.
  • * Southey
    • You have no convents in which such persons may be received and sheltered .
  • To take cover.
    • During the rainstorm, we sheltered under a tree.