Meaning & use
paywall
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A barrier on a website that stops visitors from reading content until they pay or subscribe.
Grammar: A countable noun: a paywall, several paywalls. It is also used before nouns, as in paywall article.
Patterns
- behind a paywall
- hit a paywall
- put up a paywall
I wanted to read the article, but it was behind a paywall.
The newspaper introduced a paywall to bring in subscription money.
Many readers bounce off a site when they hit a paywall.
Word forms
| plural | paywalls |
|---|
Common combinations
- behind a paywall
- The best reporting is often behind a paywall.
- hit a paywall
- I hit a paywall after reading three free articles.
- metered paywall
- A metered paywall lets you read a few articles each month for free.
- remove the paywall
- The site removed the paywall during the emergency.
- hard paywall
- A hard paywall blocks all content until you subscribe.
- get around a paywall
- Some readers try to get around a paywall by clearing their browser history.
Synonyms and how they differ
- subscription wall
- Subscription wall is a less common name for a barrier that requires a subscription, while paywall is the standard term.
- pay barrier
- Pay barrier is a looser phrase that describes the same idea but is rarely used.
Opposites
Word family
- paywalled adjective
- locked behind a paywall
- pay verb
- to give money in exchange for something
- wall noun
- a barrier that blocks access
- subscription noun
- a regular payment for access to content or a service
Commonly confused: paywall or firewall?
paywall vs firewall
A firewall is software that blocks harmful network traffic, while a paywall blocks readers who have not paid.
Practice
You click an online article but are asked to subscribe before reading. What are you facing?
Choose one answer.
A paywall is the barrier that requires payment before you can read. A firewall protects networks, and the other options do not require payment.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “paywall”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.