A fence is a freestanding structure designed to restrict or prevent movement across a boundary. Generally distinguished from a wall by the solidity of construction - a wall is usually restricted to such barriers made from solid brick or concrete, blocking vision as well as passage (though the definitions do overlap somewhat).
There are fences constructed for several different purposes:
- agricultural fencing
- security fencing
- decorative fencing
- barbed wire
- electric fencing
- post-and-rail fencing
- rock wall fencing
A fence is a person who specializes in the purchase and sale of stolen property from thieves.
In statistics, the word fence refers to a value beyond which an observation is considered an outlier.