stonewall

[ stohn-wawl ]

verb (used without object)

1. to engage in stonewalling.
2. British. filibuster ( def 3 ).
3. Cricket. (of a batsman) to play a defensive game, as by persistently blocking the ball instead of batting it for distance and runs.

verb (used with object)

1. Informal. to block, stall, or resist intentionally:

   lobbying efforts to stonewall passage of the legislation.

2. British. to obstruct (the passage of a legislative bill) in Parliament, especially by excessive or prolonged debate.

adjective

1. pertaining to or characteristic of stonewalling:

   a new round of stonewall tactics.

stonewall

/ ˌstəʊnˈwɔːl /

verb

1. intr cricket (of a batsman) to play defensively
2. to obstruct or hinder (parliamentary business)

Derived Forms

• ˌstoneˈwaller, noun

Other Words From

• stonewaller noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of stonewall¹

v. and adj. use of noun phrase stone wall

Example Sentences

They are going to stonewall and drag this process out hoping New Yorkers aren’t paying attention so partisan legislators can draw their own maps.

From Washington Post

Leadership concerns continued to fester that year after the university hired a marketing executive from Michigan State University who state prosecutors say was part of an effort to stonewall an investigation into disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar.

From Washington Post

You can’t stonewall the Nets’ offense, so I think it would make more sense to try to cause havoc and force turnovers, and Giannis is one of the best at that in the league.

From FiveThirtyEight

Sanders says he has been stonewalled from receiving vital documents and information that could shed more light, such as police radio transmissions from that day.

From Washington Post

Hospital officials stonewalled interview requests and refused to answer dozens of questions.

From ProPublica

His nickname, given to him at the Battle of Gettysburg and which he kept for the rest of his life, was Stonewall Jim.

From The Daily Beast

Excerpted from Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson by S.C. Gwynne.

From The Daily Beast

The video makes clear the struggle for marriage equality in the context of the wider post-Stonewall gay civil rights movement.

From The Daily Beast

By then, a revolution had begun with the 1969 riot at the mob-owned Stonewall Inn in New York.

From The Daily Beast

Transgender people played an integral role at Stonewall, and we are due respect in our own extended community.

From The Daily Beast

Their soldiers' confidence in Stonewall Jackson and Lee doubled the effective strength of their armies.

From Project Gutenberg

Up the street came the rebel tread, Stonewall Jackson riding ahead.

From Project Gutenberg

This abode of the dead is known as the Stonewall Jackson cemetery, in honor of that brave and true-hearted soldier.

From Project Gutenberg

The rest of the night was spent in retailing for his instruction stories of the ways of Stonewall Jackson.

From Project Gutenberg

Among them was the brigade that a twelvemonth before won on yonder hill the proud sobriquet of Stonewall.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• rebuff