wainscotting

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   Wooden panels that cover the lower part of an interior wall, often in an older house.

   Grammar: Uncountable: talk about 'some wainscotting' or 'a sheet of wainscotting', not 'a wainscotting'.

   Patterns

   • install wainscotting
   • wainscotting on the wall

   The old dining room still has its original wainscotting.

   They added white wainscotting to the hallway to protect the plaster.

   The wainscotting was painted a soft gray.

2. 2noununcountabletechnical

   The material or work of covering a wall with such wooden panels.

   Grammar: Also uncountable; refers to the activity or the finished work, not to one panel.

   Patterns

   • do the wainscotting
   • finish the wainscotting

   The carpenter spent the morning doing the wainscotting.

   Wainscotting is a common job in older homes.

Common combinations

beadboard wainscotting

Beadboard wainscotting gives a cottage look.

install wainscotting

They installed wainscotting in the entryway.

paint the wainscotting

We painted the wainscotting a pale blue.

wooden wainscotting

The wooden wainscotting was dark and heavy.

Synonyms and how they differ

paneling

Paneling is a broader word for any wall covering made of panels, while wainscotting specifically covers only the lower part of a wall.

wainscot

Wainscot can mean the same thing, but it is also used for the wood itself or an older style; wainscotting is the more common everyday term.

Word family

wainscot noun

The wooden paneling or the lower part of a wall covered with it.

wainscoted adjective

Having wainscotting; e.g., a wainscoted room.

Commonly confused: wainscotting or wainscoting?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “wainscotting”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words