stair

noun

ˈster How to pronounce stair (audio)
1
: a series of steps or flights of steps for passing from one level to another
—often used in plural but singular or plural in construction
… a narrow private stairs …—Lewis Mumford
2
: a single step of a stairway

Examples of stair in a Sentence

She ran down the stairs. He waited at the foot of the stairs. She slipped and fell down the stairs. The stairs lead to the roof. We had to climb another flight of stairs to get to the roof. He tripped on the bottom stair and almost fell.
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.
Kruse had her right arm restrained behind her back by a security guard, who walked her up the stairs to the concourse and out of the stadium. — Matt Calkins , Jackson Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026 In 2023, a brain-spine interface reportedly helped a man with a chronic spinal cord injury stand, walk, and climb stairs. — Mike McRae 21, New Atlas, 22 Oct. 2026 The stairs had been mismeasured, requiring scaffolding to be erected at the last minute to haul roughly 10-foot panes of glass through a window. — Sean Santiago, Architectural Digest, 21 Oct. 2026 The frat member then directed her to follow him to a secluded room in the fraternity house, taking her up the stairs to a bedroom on the residential floor, according to the lawsuit. — ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for stair

Word History

Etymology

Middle English steir, from Old English stǣger; akin to Old English & Old High German stīgan to rise, Greek steichein to walk

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of stair was before the 12th century

Phrases Containing stair

Rhymes for stair

See All Rhymes for stair

Browse Nearby Words

stainless steel
stair
staircase
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Stair.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stair. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

stair

noun
ˈsta(ə)r How to pronounce stair (audio)
ˈste(ə)r
1
: a series of steps or flights of steps for passing from one level to another
—often used in plural
ran down the stairs
2
: one step of a stairway

More from Merriam-Webster on stair

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about stair

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All