adj
Meaning 1
Located on a lower floor.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- The kids sleep in the downstairs bedroom; we sleep in the upstairs one.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
downstairs
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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General-American: /daʊnˈstɛɹz/
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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Received-Pronunciation: /daʊnˈstɛəz/
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Australian: /daʊnˈsteːz/
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/daʊnˈstiəz/ New Zealand, cheer–chair merger
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New-Zealand: /daʊnˈsteəz/ without the cheer–chair merger
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Scotland: /daʊnˈsteɹz/
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/daʊnˈstɜː(ɹ)z/ Lancashire, fair–fur merger
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rhymes with -ɛə(ɹ)z
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CMU ARPABET: D AW1 N S T EH1 R Z Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
adv
Meaning 2
Down the stairs.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- I have to walk downstairs to leave the building.
- The lodger lives downstairs.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adv
Meaning 3
In or to hell.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adv
Meaning 4
Regarding the genitalia.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: euphemistic, slang
Examples
- something wrong downstairs
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 5
The lower floor of a house, at ground level, or sometimes below.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- We looked over the house; downstairs was spacious, but upstairs really cramped.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 6
The lower floor of a house, at ground level, or sometimes below.
In particular, especially historically, the servants’ quarters.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- The family tried to ignore gossip from downstairs.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 7
The genitalia.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: euphemistic, slang
Examples
- The wind lifted up her skirt and I caught a glimpse of her downstairs.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adjective
Meaning 8
on or of lower floors of a building
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- the downstairs (or downstair) phone
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: downstair
Antonyms: upstairs
adverb
Meaning 9
on a floor below
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- the tenants live downstairs
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: down the stairs, on a lower floor, below
Antonyms: upstairs
History
Etymology
Etymology tree English down- Proto-Indo-European *steygh- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *stéygheti Proto-Germanic *stīganą Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Germanic *-janą Proto-Germanic *staigijaną Proto-Indo-European *-rós Proto-Germanic *-raz Proto-Germanic *staigraz Proto-Germanic *staigriz Proto-West Germanic *staigri Old English stǣġer Middle English steire English stair Middle English -es English -s English downstairs From down- + stair + -s.
Across languages
Translations
60 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Finnish: alakerta — downstairs (adjective); a floor lower than the current one
- French: en bas — downstairs (adjective); a floor lower than the current one
- Hungarian: lenti — downstairs (adjective); a floor lower than the current one
- Hungarian: földszinti — downstairs (adjective); a floor lower than the current one
- Japanese: 階下 (kaika) — downstairs (adjective); a floor lower than the current one
- Korean: 아래층 (araecheung) — downstairs (adjective); a floor lower than the current one
- Polish: na dole — downstairs (adjective); a floor lower than the current one
- Ottoman Turkish: آشاغی (aşağı) — downstairs (adjective); a floor lower than the current one
- Bulgarian: до́лу (dólu) — downstairs (adverb)
- Bulgarian: надо́лу (nadólu) — downstairs (adverb)
- Catalan: a baix — downstairs (adverb)
- Catalan: escala avall — downstairs (adverb)
- Chinese Mandarin: 樓下 /楼下 (lóuxià) — downstairs (adverb)
- Dutch: beneden — downstairs (adverb)
- Esperanto: subŝtupare — downstairs (adverb)
- Esperanto: malsupre — downstairs (adverb)
- Esperanto: en la malsupra etaĝo — downstairs (adverb)
- French: au-dessous — downstairs (adverb)
- French: en bas — downstairs (adverb)
- German: unten — downstairs (adverb)
- German: treppab — downstairs (adverb)
- German: treppabwärts — downstairs (adverb)
- German: nach unten — downstairs (adverb)
- Hungarian: lent — downstairs (adverb)
- Hungarian: lenn — downstairs (adverb)
- Hungarian: a földszinten — downstairs (adverb)
- Indonesian: lantai bawah — downstairs (adverb)
- Irish: thíos an staighre — downstairs (adverb)
- Irish: síos an staighre — downstairs (adverb)
- Italian: giù — downstairs (adverb)
- Italian: di sotto — downstairs (adverb)
- Japanese: 階下 (kaika) — downstairs (adverb)
- Korean: 아래층에 (araecheung'e) — downstairs (adverb)
- Korean: 아래층으로 (araecheung'euro) — downstairs (adverb)
- Latvian: lejup — downstairs (adverb)
- Latvian: lejā — downstairs (adverb)
- Latvian: apakšējā stāvā — downstairs (adverb)
- Neapolitan: abbascio — downstairs (adverb)
- Norman: à bas — downstairs (adverb)
- Old English: niþre — downstairs (adverb)
- Old English: niþer — downstairs (adverb)
- Persian: طبقهٔ پایین (tabaqe-ye pâyîn) — downstairs (adverb)
- Polish: na dole — downstairs (adverb)
- Polish: na dół — downstairs (adverb)
- Portuguese: embaixo — downstairs (adverb)
- Russian: внизу́ (vnizú) — downstairs (adverb)
- Russian: на ни́жнем этаже́ (na nížnem etažé) — downstairs (adverb)
- Russian: вниз (vniz) — downstairs (adverb)
- Russian: на ни́жний эта́ж (na nížnij etáž) — downstairs (adverb)
- Lower Sorbian: dołojce — downstairs (adverb)
- Spanish: abajo — downstairs (adverb)
- Sundanese: landeh — downstairs (adverb)
- Ottoman Turkish: آشاغی (aşağı) — downstairs (adverb)
- Volapük: dono — downstairs (adverb)
- Welsh: lawr llawr — downstairs (adverb)
- Welsh: i lawr y staer — downstairs (adverb)
- Welsh: i lawr y grisiau — downstairs (adverb)
- French: en bas — the genitalia
- Italian: di sotto — the genitalia
- Italian: giù — the genitalia
Real reading context