stairway

[ stair-wey ]

noun

1. a passageway from one level, as of a building, to another by a series of stairs; staircase.

stairway

/ ˈstɛəˌweɪ /

noun

1. a means of access consisting of stairs; staircase or flight of steps

Word History and Origins

Origin of stairway¹

First recorded in 1790–1800; stair + way ¹

Example Sentences

The designs for a concrete stairway amounted to an industrial intrusion into the last bit of pristine coast left in Encinitas.

From Outside Online

Water-tight doors that can be closed during storms have been placed at tunnel entrances and similar systems are being rolled out at vulnerable station entrances and stairways.

From Time

Other linkages include trees, windows, corridors, stairways, flames and rosy skies over coastlines.

From Washington Post

Among his legacies are the rustic, hand-built stone stairways found on some of Acadia’s steepest slopes.

From Outside Online

Among them was the installation of a wooden stairway to the second floor of the theater, having more than the 16 steps allowed for a stairway at that building, and for installing a wood stage on the second floor.

From Washington Blade

Bucca hung up the phone and started up the stairway with fellow fire marshal John Devery.

From The Daily Beast

I look around the stairway, and I see Al Capone and another guy sitting in the living room having a beef about ‘receipts.’

From The Daily Beast

And now that same song, “Stairway to Heaven” is at the center of another battle over ownership.

From The Daily Beast

For more than a half-century before “Stairway to Heaven,” recording artists had been doing this, usually with impunity.

From The Daily Beast

Despite what some have claimed, the cited passages from “Stairway to Heaven” and “Spirit” are not identical.

From The Daily Beast

“We saw the smoke pouring out of the window,” and she darted in and started up the front stairway.

From Project Gutenberg

A narrow, circular stairway leads to the tower, from which the beauty of the location is at once apparent.

From Project Gutenberg

Black Hood stood in that shadowy stairway and was himself like one of the shadows—watching, listening, waiting for his time.

From Project Gutenberg

He turned, stumbled over a fallen form, caught his balance, and then took the stairway in long strides.

From Project Gutenberg

Edna hastened upstairs by a private stairway that led from the rear of the store to the apartments above.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• staircase
• stairwell