wall — EN↔FR

wall /BrE wɔːl

, AmE wɔl

noun

1 (general) Building, Architecture mur m

on the wall (on vertical face) au mur; (on top) sur le mur

the back/front wall (of house) le mur arrière/de façade

my secret must not go beyond these four walls mon secret ne doit pas sortir de ces murs

before n [heater, light] mural

2 (of cave, tunnel) paroi f

3 Anatomy, Biology paroi f

the cell/stomach wall la paroi cellulaire/stomacale

4 Motor Vehicles (of tyre) flanc m

5 figurative mur m

a wall of silence/of incomprehension un mur de silence/d'incompréhension

a wall of water/of flame un mur d'eau/de flammes

a tight wall of security around the President une barrière de sécurité autour du Président

Idioms

to be a fly on the wall

être une mouche

to be off the wall informal

[person] être dingue informal;

[comments] être incohérent

to drive sb up the wall informal

exaspérer qn, rendre qn fou/folle

to go to the wall

faire faillite

to have one's back to the wall

avoir le dos au mur

to push or , to have sb up against the wall

mettre qn au pied du mur

walls have ears

les murs ont des oreilles

Phrasal verbs

■ wall in:

wall in [sth],

wall [sth] in

entourer

the valley is walled in by mountains la vallée est entourée de montagnes

;

wall [sb] in,

wall in [sb]

emprisonner

to feel walled in se sentir emprisonné

■ wall off:

wall off [sth],

wall [sth] off

(block up, block off) condamner [room, wing, area]; (separate by wall) séparer [qch] par un mur

■ wall up:

wall up [sb/sth],

wall [sb/sth] up

emmurer