paper Paper comes from the wood of trees: In these sentences, paper is a noun: - Have you read the paper yet today? (paper = newspaper)
- We’re out of paper. We need to get more paper for our printer.
- Most books are made of paper.
- It’s easy to recycle paper.
- A contract is an important piece of paper.
You can do many different things with paper: - We use wax paper for cooking and food preparation.
- Toilet paper is used in the bathroom.
- Wall paper is used to decorate homes.
- Tissue paper is used by children in creating school projects.
- Wrapping paper is used for covering gifts.
It’s also common to hear the word "paper" when describing important documents and work for business, government, and school: - All of their profits are on paper. (A profit or a loss isn’t realized until something is sold.)
- Mary signed some papers that finalized her divorce. (Notice that "paper" is a count noun in this sentence.)
- Sumitra has a paper due tomorrow for a class. (a paper = an assignment, usually several pages long)
- Our teacher assigned a 10-page research paper.
- Several papers have been published documenting the decline of animal species around the world.
In these sentences, "paper" is an adjective or part of a compound noun: - Julio has a lot of paperwork to finish at his job.
- Children like to work with paper mache in creating projects.
- They also like to make paper airplanes.
- The paperboy delivers newspapers on his bike.
- I have a paper shredder in my office.
Click here to learn more words. February 23, 2013 | 
