stanza

noun

stan·za | \ ˈstan-zə

Definition of stanza

1 : a division of a poem consisting of a series of lines arranged together in a usually recurring pattern of meter and rhyme : strophe

2 sports : a period (such as a half or an inning) into which the duration of a game is divided The game's prime moment wasn't the decisive and popular eighth-inning, two-run homer by Mark Bellhorn … but a sensational play by Boston's Manny Ramirez in the top of that same stanza. —Roger Angell

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Examples of stanza in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The central stanza describes her to us, for the only time, in figurative language. — Willard Spiegelman, WSJ, "Words to Probe Our Deepest Thoughts," 6 July 2018 The Vikings got out to a five-point lead at 32-27 in the early minutes of the second half, but Wayne's Quisenberry consistently got to the basket and the Warriors led 39-38 going to the last stanza. — Scott Springer, Cincinnati.com, "Princeton comes up short against Wayne in regional semi," 14 Mar. 2018 The Drakes were down, 30-23, early in the fourth stanza. — Rick O'brien, Philly.com, "Jennifer Kremp leads Jenkintown to first state basketball title," 27 Mar. 2018 England was the far better team, then conceded a 93rd-minute equalizer to Colombia and had to sweat out the extra stanza. — Avi Creditor, SI.com, "World Cup Quarterfinal Power Rankings: Field Narrows to Powers, Surprises," 4 July 2018 Ryan Young posted 12 of his points in the third stanza. — Rick O'brien, Philly.com, "Conwell-Egan's hoops season comes to crushing halt," 13 Mar. 2018 That stanza from Florida’s official state song never made it into Stephen Foster’s final edit, which is a shame considering the historic accuracy of the lines. — Vincent Crampton, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Explore Florida's Lafayette County: Even scofflaws deserve to cool off," 6 May 2018 Gloria Lutz, 66, pointed to one stanza in the song. — John Hanc, New York Times, "86 and Opening Closet Doors at the Hebrew Home," 21 June 2018 England raced clear with a devastating opening stanza of tries from Mike Brown, Elliot Daly and Owen Farrell, but South Africa's livewire scrumhalf Faf de Klerk orchestrated a Springbok stampede. — CNN, "Rugby's southern hemisphere sides strike first blows," 11 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'stanza.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.