stairway

stair +‎ way

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈstɛɹweɪ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈstɛəweɪ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)weɪ

stairway (plural stairways)

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

   The phrase "stairway to heaven" has a variety of cultural significances.

   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

     Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady. She stood for a moment holding her skirt above the grimy steps, with something of the stately pose which Richter has given his Queen Louise on the stairway, […] .

• staircase
• stairs

• stair
• stairwell