stone·wall
ˈstōn-ˌwȯl 
stonewalled; stonewalling; stonewalls
1
chiefly British
: to engage in obstructive parliamentary debate or delaying tactics
2
: to be uncooperative, obstructive, or evasive
: to refuse to comply or cooperate with
stonewaller
noun
1
: a fence made of stones
especially
: one built of rough stones without mortar to enclose a field
2
: an immovable block or obstruction (as in public affairs)
Examples of stonewall in a Sentence
Verb
They stonewalled until they could come up with a response.
They were just stonewalling for time.
They're trying to stonewall the media.
We're trying to get the information, but we're being stonewalled.
Recent Examples on the Web
Alice Park, TIME, 20 Mar. 2025
Boasberg, displaying remarkable forbearance, asked basic, seemingly innocuous questions, only to be met with stonewalling from the Justice Department.
—Ruth Marcus, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2025
Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 4 Mar. 2025
In the basement of that commercial building on Gracechurch Street, surrounded by high-rise towers filled with financial and insurance firms, archaeologists began excavating large, exploratory pits two years ago until stone walls several feet thick and dozens of feet long were exposed.
—Willem Marx, NPR, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stonewall
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Verb
There is no concrete evidence to support this, but the Chinese government has stonewalled efforts to examine lab notebooks or other materials that might shed light on what really happened.
—Alice Park, TIME, 20 Mar. 2025
Boasberg, displaying remarkable forbearance, asked basic, seemingly innocuous questions, only to be met with stonewalling from the Justice Department.
—Ruth Marcus, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2025
Noun
In the basement of the structure, embedded in the stone wall, is a metal ring.
—Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 4 Mar. 2025
In the basement of that commercial building on Gracechurch Street, surrounded by high-rise towers filled with financial and insurance firms, archaeologists began excavating large, exploratory pits two years ago until stone walls several feet thick and dozens of feet long were exposed.
—Willem Marx, NPR, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stonewall
Cite this Entry
“Stonewall.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stonewall. Accessed 8 Apr. 2025.
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