/ steə(r); NAmE ster/ noun
1.
stairs [ pl. ] a set of steps built between two floors inside a building :
We had to carry the piano up three flights of stairs .
The children ran up / down the stairs .
at the bottom / top of the stairs
He remembered passing her on the stairs .
—see also downstairs , upstairs
2.
[ C ] one of the steps in a set of stairs :
How many stairs are there up to the second floor?
—picture at staircase
3.
[ sing. ] ( literary ) = staircase :
The house had a panelled hall and a fine oak stair.
► stair adjective [ only before noun ]:
the stair carpet
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IDIOMS
- below stairs
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English stǣger , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch steiger scaffolding, from a base meaning climb.