below stairs

American  

noun

(usually used with a singular verb)

1. (formerly) the basement rooms usually used by servants, as servants' quarters, kitchen, and laundry room.

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below stairs British  

adverb

1. (formerly) at or in the basement of a large house, considered as the place where the servants live and work

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

below stairs

Mount Vernon’s newest chapter lies below stairs, in the cellar.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 7, 2026

May explained her vision of “the British dream” by talking about her grandmother, a lady’s maid below stairs, who had three professors and a prime minister among her grandchildren.

From Reuters ● Jul. 11, 2018

Sumptuously filmed, at moments the movie is a sort of Downton Abbey of the Raj, with all sorts of romantic intrigue going on below stairs among the 500 Hindu, Sikh and Muslim household staff.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 11, 2017

It becomes yet another way for "Downton Abbey" to explore the central questions of this final season, during which everyone above and below stairs alike is contemplating his or her future prospects in a rapidly changing society.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2016

How long I stood there, and forgot my hurry, I know not, but starting up at last as the sun struck the mountain, I went down, and found below stairs another curious contrast.

From Rambles and Studies in Greece by J. P. Mahaffy