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
Lewis Mumford2
: 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
One of her earliest memories was of her teenage sister sitting at the kitchen table one morning with a bruised eye and split lip, having been thrown down a flight of stairs by a boyfriend.
—Pamela Colloff, ProPublica, 24 Mar. 2026
Bathrooms at the bottom of the venue, on either side of the stairs, are the most crowded.
—John Wenzel, Denver Post, 23 Mar. 2026
With no place to park the aircraft, air traffic control dispatched fire trucks to go to the plane instead and offered stairs to evacuate passengers, all while continuing to manage other traffic.
—ABC News, 23 Mar. 2026
In recent years, Rollins has dreamed of moving into an elevator building — her row house has stairs — but says she’s been stymied by Chicago’s public housing bureaucracy.
—Mary Schmich, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stair
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Pamela Colloff, ProPublica, 24 Mar. 2026
Bathrooms at the bottom of the venue, on either side of the stairs, are the most crowded.
—John Wenzel, Denver Post, 23 Mar. 2026
With no place to park the aircraft, air traffic control dispatched fire trucks to go to the plane instead and offered stairs to evacuate passengers, all while continuing to manage other traffic.
—ABC News, 23 Mar. 2026
In recent years, Rollins has dreamed of moving into an elevator building — her row house has stairs — but says she’s been stymied by Chicago’s public housing bureaucracy.
—Mary Schmich, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stair
Cite this Entry
“Stair.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stair. Accessed 26 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids 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
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