stairway

noun

stair·​way ˈster-ˌwā How to pronounce stairway (audio)
: one or more flights of stairs usually with landings to pass from one level to another

Examples of stairway in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web An open stairway from the 14th floor to the 12th floor at the State Street space inside One Congress. Catherine Carlock, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Sep. 2023 That stairway deposits visitors who don’t prefer to use an elevator at a lobby that serves as the building’s warm, inviting underbelly. Michael Kimmelman, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2023 From the restorative practices area, a stairway leads to a second floor area in the addition where offices for counselors, social workers, psychologists, and a college counselor are grouped together. Richard Requena, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2023 Nearby was a stairway that had only been discovered after a 1907 landslide, with 200 steps descending to a door hidden in the fortress walls. Tony Perrottet, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Aug. 2023 The home is seven stories tall, with a whopping 160 rooms, 10,000 panes of glass, and 47 stairways, some of which lead to nowhere at all. Andrea Romano, Travel + Leisure, 13 Aug. 2023 Its black-tie parties, grand stairways, verdant lobbies, and high-ceilinged ballroom — Machine Age replacements for their fussy Victorian predecessors on 34th Street — were made even more lustrous by the everyday glumness of the Depression. Curbed, 9 June 2023 Guests enter the triangular dwellings via a stairway to the entrance. Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 22 Aug. 2023 Entryway With a set of curved stairways and double-height ceilings, the foyer is just about as grand as grand entrances get. Kelsey Mulvey, House Beautiful, 3 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stairway.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1767, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of stairway was in 1767

Dictionary Entries Near stairway

Cite this Entry

“Stairway.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stairway. Accessed 22 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

stairway

noun
stair·​way -ˌwā How to pronounce stairway (audio)
: one or more flights of stairs usually with landings to pass from one level to another

More from Merriam-Webster on stairway

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!