stair

noun

ˈster 

1

: a series of steps or flights of steps for passing from one level to another

—often used in plural but singular or plural in construction

… a narrow private stairs …

—Lewis Mumford

2

: a single step of a stairway

Examples of stair in a Sentence

She ran down the stairs.

He waited at the foot of the stairs.

She slipped and fell down the stairs.

The stairs lead to the roof.

We had to climb another flight of stairs to get to the roof.

He tripped on the bottom stair and almost fell.

Recent Examples on the Web

Today, that can mean a stair railing sculpted from cast bronze or a chandelier made of 450 shards of selenite (both, by the way, are Henault commissions). —Kathryn O’Shea-Evans, Robb Report, 8 Nov. 2025

His memoir told of workhouse guards beating prisoners on the least pretense, and of one guard who regularly shoved prisoners down flights of stairs. —Equal Justice Initiative, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025

Pet-friendly ground-floor rooms open onto peaceful gardens; upstairs suites are quieter, and accessed by stairs only. —Alli Forde, Travel + Leisure, 6 Nov. 2025

In recent months, Friends of Coast Walk Trail shepherded a project in partnership with the city of San Diego to install new decking and railings for the old wooden bridge and repairs to the south stairs, which were completed in September. —Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English steir, from Old English stǣger; akin to Old English & Old High German stīgan to rise, Greek steichein to walk

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing stair

• stair climber
• stair climbing
• stair stepper

Rhymes for stair

• air
• ayre
• bahr
• bare
• blare
• care
• chair
• claire
• ere
• err
• eyre
• fair

Kids Definition

stair

noun

ˈsta(ə)r 

ˈste(ə)r

1

: a series of steps or flights of steps for passing from one level to another

—often used in plural

ran down the stairs

2

: one step of a stairway