plural stories
1
a
: an account of incidents or events
The movie is based on a true story.
I'll tell you later, It's a long story. [=it's too complicated to explain]
b
: a statement regarding the facts pertinent to a situation in question
The police were not convinced by the suspect's story.
c
: anecdote
especially
: an amusing one
2
a
: a fictional narrative shorter than a novel
specifically
: short story
b
: the intrigue or plot of a narrative or dramatic work
3
: a widely circulated rumor
the story going around
6
: a news article or broadcast
7
a
: matter, situation
We lost power and it's the same story throughout the city.
She got good grades in math but history was another story. [=she did not do well in history]
Nothing has changed. It's the same old story.
The food is great, but that's only half the story. The entertainment is excellent, too.
b
: background information that clarifies a situation or affair
What's the story on this deal?
8
Examples of story in a Sentence
he's a talented writer, but his quirky stories will never find a wide readership
Grandpa is always telling stories about what it was like growing up on a farm
a story in the morning paper about plans for a new library
gave us the whole story of the accident
stories going around that the old man had died with thousands of dollars hidden under his mattress
she tells stories just to get attention, so don't believe that stuff about her father being somebody important
the story proceeds at a pace that many readers will find a bit too leisurely
management is trying to figure out what the story is with the accident down in the warehouse
Recent Examples on the Web
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—
Reuters, NBC news, 4 June 2026
While some of these headwinds are likely to ease if the conflict in the Middle East comes to an end, some long-term concerns are also denting investor confidence in India's consumption story.
—Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 4 June 2026
Sci-fi stories about alien invasions have often functioned as political allegories for anxieties around empire and immigration, Lechuga says.
—Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 3 June 2026
One of the night’s earliest auditions came from a barefoot interpretive dancer named Aggy, who attempted to tell a story entirely through movement and body language.
—Deirdre Durkan, PEOPLE, 3 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for story
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Reuters, NBC news, 4 June 2026
While some of these headwinds are likely to ease if the conflict in the Middle East comes to an end, some long-term concerns are also denting investor confidence in India's consumption story.
—Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 4 June 2026
Sci-fi stories about alien invasions have often functioned as political allegories for anxieties around empire and immigration, Lechuga says.
—Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 3 June 2026
One of the night’s earliest auditions came from a barefoot interpretive dancer named Aggy, who attempted to tell a story entirely through movement and body language.
—Deirdre Durkan, PEOPLE, 3 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for story
Cite this Entry
“Story.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/story. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
story
2 of 2 noun
variants
also storey
ˈstōr-ē,
ˈstȯr-
plural stories also storeys
: a set of rooms or an area making up one floor level of a building
Etymology
Middle English storie "tale," from early French estoire, estorie (same meaning), from Latin historia "tale, history"
Middle English storie, from Latin historia "tale, illustration, story of a building," from earlier Latin, "tale, history"; probably so called from the use of narrative paintings on the window levels of medieval buildings
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