Library / English Dictionary

STAIR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Support consisting of a place to rest the foot while ascending or descending a stairway

Example:

he paused on the bottom step

Synonyms:

stair; step

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("stair" is a kind of...):

support (any device that bears the weight of another thing)

Meronyms (parts of "stair"):

riser (structural member consisting of the vertical part of a stair or step)

tread (structural member consisting of the horizontal part of a stair or step)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "stair"):

corbel step; corbie-step; corbiestep; crow step ((architecture) a step on the top of a gable wall)

Holonyms ("stair" is a part of...):

staircase; stairway (a way of access (upward and downward) consisting of a set of steps)

Credits

 Context examples: 

A man followed me from London Bridge Station, and I have no doubt—Great heaven! what is that? It was a clang of the bell, followed instantly by heavy steps upon the stair.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But if I am not mistaken I hear him upon the stair, so we shall have something more interesting than his pipe to study.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He passed on and ascended the stairs, still holding my hand, and still beckoning the gentlemen to follow him, which they did.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

I should not be very much surprised if this were he whose step I hear now upon the stair.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Ordinary physical activity, such as walking or climbing stairs, does not cause angina.

(Canadian Cardiovascular Society Grading Scale Class I, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

I always hear him unlock it as I go down the stair after I leave the tray.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

After tea, Mr. Bennet retired to the library, as was his custom, and Mary went up stairs to her instrument.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

Babies and young children are also at risk of falling - off of furniture and down stairs, for example.

(Falls, NIH: National Institute on Aging)

When I got to the doorway at the top of the stairs I found it closed.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

As we went up, doors of rooms were opened and people's heads put out; and we passed other people on the stairs, who were coming down.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)