backstairs

or back·stair

[ bak-stairz ]

/ ˈbækˈstɛərz /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR backstairs ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

associated or originating with household servants.

secret, underhanded, or scandalous: backstairs gossip.

Nearby words

Origin of backstairs

First recorded in 1635–45; adj. use of back stairs

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for backstairs

Which means that every seat contains someone who is reclining straight into the lap of their backstairs neighbor.
Should People Stop Reclining Their Seats?|Megan McArdle|February 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But Amy was already half way up the backstairs and paused to make a face at her.
The Outdoor Girls at the Hostess House|Laura Lee Hope
Keep a good heart, even if you have to knock in vain at many doors, and kick about the backstairs of the house of letters.
My First Book:|Various
The backstairs one would not choose; but what other way was there?
The Lady of Lynn|Walter Besant

We had entered by the backstairs; we descended by the same, so as not to be observed.
The Memoirs of Louis XIV., His Court and The Regency, Complete|Duc de Saint-Simon
But I hope one of the results of this war will be the end of backstairs diplomacy.
Face to Face with Kaiserism|James W. Gerard

British Dictionary definitions for backstairs

backstairs

/ (ˈbækˈstɛəz) /

pl n

a secondary staircase in a house, esp one originally for the use of servants

adjective Also: backstair

underhandbackstairs gossip

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for backstairs