plural stories
1
a
: an account of incidents or events
b
: a statement regarding the facts pertinent to a situation in question
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
6
: a news article or broadcast
8
storied; storying
1
: to adorn with a story or a scene from history
2
archaic
: to narrate or describe in story
variants
or less commonly storey
plural stories also storeys
1
a
: the space in a building between two adjacent floor levels or between a floor and the roof
b
: a set of rooms in such a space
c
: a unit of measure equal to the height of the story of a building
one story high
2
: a horizontal division of a building's exterior not necessarily corresponding exactly with the stories within
Examples of story in a Sentence
Noun (1)
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
Tommy McArdle, People.com, 19 May 2025
After a long, arduous wait, her story caught the attention of Royal Canine.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 18 May 2025
Paul Sullivan, New York Times, 14 May 2025
Looking to the Future After this long and storied career, Mr. Davis plans to retire within the next five years due to age and health concerns.
—Matt Emma, USA Today, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for story
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
—Tommy McArdle, People.com, 19 May 2025
After a long, arduous wait, her story caught the attention of Royal Canine.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 18 May 2025
Verb
Major golf championships have long gone to storied, private clubs — think Baltusrol, Oakmont, Oak Hill and Winged Foot.
—Paul Sullivan, New York Times, 14 May 2025
Looking to the Future After this long and storied career, Mr. Davis plans to retire within the next five years due to age and health concerns.
—Matt Emma, USA Today, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for story
Cite this Entry
“Story.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/story. Accessed 29 May. 2025.
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
Noun
Middle English storie "tale," from early French estoire, estorie (same meaning), from Latin historia "tale, history"
Noun
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
Biographical Definition
Story
2 of 2biographical name (2)
William Wetmore 1819–1895 son of Joseph Story American sculptor
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