Standard Lemma guide

stairway

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

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.

  • General-American: /ˈstɛɹweɪ/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈstɛəweɪ/
  • Australian: /ˈsteːwæɪ/
  • New-Zealand: /ˈsteəwæɪ/ without the cheer–chair merger
  • /ˈstiəwæɪ/ New Zealand, cheer–chair merger
  • Scotland: /ˈsteɹwe/
  • /ˈstɜː(ɹ)weː/ Lancashire, fair–fur merger
  • rhymes with -ɛə(ɹ)weɪ
  • CMU ARPABET: S T EH1 R W EY2 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A set of steps, with or without a case, that allow one to walk up or down.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

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

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: staircase

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: way

Narrower terms: backstairs, companionway, escalator, moving staircase, moving stairway, fire escape, emergency exit, flight, flight of stairs, flight of steps, ghat, stairs, steps, ramp

History

Etymology

stair + way

Across languages

Translations

43 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Ahtna: ukʼenaʼsghidełi — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Armenian: սանդուղք (sanduġkʻ) — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Armenian: աստիճաններ (astičanner) — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Armenian: փիլաքյան (pʻilakʻyan) — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Bashkir: баҫҡыс (baśqıs) — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Basque: eskailera — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Bulgarian: стъ́лбище (stǎ́lbište) — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Chinese Mandarin: 樓梯 /楼梯 (lóutī) — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Czech: schodiště — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Egyptian: r-w-d-O40 (rwd) — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Esperanto: ŝtuparo — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Estonian: trepp — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Finnish: portaat — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Finnish: rappuset — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • French: escalier — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Galician: escaleiras — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Georgian: კიბე (ḳibe) — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • German: Stiege — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • German: Treppe — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Greek: κλιμακοστάσιο (klimakostásio) — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Greek: σκάλα (skála) — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Hungarian: lépcsősor — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Hungarian: lépcső — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Italian: scalinata — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Italian: gradinata — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Japanese: 階段 (kaidan) — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Kapampangan: eran — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Khmer: ជណ្ដើរ (cɔɔcŭəndaə) — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Mòcheno: stiag — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Ojibwe: akwaandawaagan — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Portuguese: escadaria — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Russian: ле́стница (léstnica) — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Russian: ле́стничный марш (léstničnyj marš) — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Scottish Gaelic: staidhre — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Serbo-Croatian: stȕbīšte — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Serbo-Croatian: stȅpenīšte — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Slovak: schody — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Spanish: escalera — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Spanish: gradas — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Spanish: escalinata — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Turkish: merdiven — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Ottoman Turkish: نردبان (nerdiban) — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
  • Vietnamese: lan can — set of steps allowing one to walk up or down comfortably
Real reading context

stairway in complete knowledge articles