stanza

noun

stan·​za ˈstan-zə How to pronounce stanza (audio)
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
stanzaic adjective

Examples of stanza in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The Warriors entered the period trailing by 19 and scored 51 points in the final stanza to win. Nick Friedell, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025 Such pleasurable pains, at their most chronic, or their most carnal, can keep Lang occupied for the length of a stanza. Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025 After Malden Catholic cut its deficit to 28-14 midway through the stanza off a four-yard touchdown pass from Bloise to Anthony Wadland, Catholic Memorial marched right back up the field. Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 11 Oct. 2025 There’s no therapy like clawing back through both your triumphant and dismal decades and reliving them stanza by stanza, line by line, iamb by iamb. Via Scribner, Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for stanza

Word History

Etymology

Italian, stay, abode, room, stanza, from Vulgar Latin *stantia stay — more at stance

First Known Use

1589, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of stanza was in 1589

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Stanza.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stanza. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

stanza

noun
stan·​za ˈstan-zə How to pronounce stanza (audio)
: a division of a poem consisting of a series of lines arranged together in a usually repeating pattern of rhythm and rhyme
stanzaic adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on stanza

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