stair S2 W3 /steə $ ster/ BrE AmE noun
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: stæger ]
1 . stairs [plural] a set of steps built for going from one level of a building to another ⇨ upstairs , downstairs
up/down the stairs
Jerry ran up the stairs.
the top/head of the stairs
I left my briefcase at the top of the stairs.
the bottom/foot of the stairs
‘Lisa,’ he cried from the foot of the stairs.
We walked up four flights of stairs (=sets of stairs) .
2 . [countable] one of the steps in a set of stairs:
Lucy sat down on the bottom stair.
3 . [singular] literary a ↑ staircase
4 . below stairs British English old-fashioned in the servants’ part of a large house, in the past