downstairs

[ adverb, noun doun-stairz; adjective doun-stairz ]

/ adverb, noun ˈdaʊnˈstɛərz; adjective ˈdaʊnˌstɛərz /

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adverb

down the stairs.

to or on a lower floor.

adjective

Also downstair . pertaining to or situated on a lower floor, especially the ground floor.

noun

(used with a singular verb) the lower floor or floors of a building: The downstairs is being painted.

the stairway designated for use by people descending: Don't try to go up the downstairs.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of downstairs

First recorded in 1590–1600; down¹ + stair + -s³

Words nearby downstairs

down someone's throat, downspin, downspout, Down's syndrome, downstage, downstairs, downstate, downstream, downstroke, downswing, Down syndrome

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use downstairs in a sentence

I went downstairs to get something and I heard one of the security team say to another, “Dude, I think they ought to lock these doors.”
I Was in the Capitol. I Was Under Siege|Eugene Robinson|January 20, 2021|Ozy
He favors complete focus on Bills games, and so Johnson retreated to the third-floor attic, alone, while his wife and kids watched downstairs.
‘Bills Mafia’ waited a generation for a team like this. It’s had to embrace it from afar.|Adam Kilgore|January 7, 2021|Washington Post
He’d sneak downstairs to make one for himself, but I’d always find him.
Dark spaces on the map|Katie McLean|December 18, 2020|MIT Technology Review
We dress early for our reservation to allow a little time downstairs for a game of pool.
Escape (safely) to Baltimore’s luxurious Ivy Hotel|Kevin Naff|December 4, 2020|Washington Blade

Whenever people lingered downstairs or smoked out on the patio, staff ushered them back to their rooms.
“We Don’t Even Know Who Is Dead or Alive”: Trapped Inside an Assisted Living Facility During the Pandemic|by Ava Kofman|November 30, 2020|ProPublica
Before long, however, he began to feel out of place and went back downstairs for a while to chat up the cook.
‘I Saved My Friend From Bill Cosby’|Lloyd Grove|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Victoria was, for example, not allowed to walk downstairs without Conroy holding her hand.
Kate and William’s Royal Family Values|Tom Sykes|September 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I immediately went downstairs and told Dad about the dream whilst he was having his breakfast.
Knocking on Heaven's Door: True Stories of Unexplained, Uncanny Experiences at the Hour of Death|Patricia Pearson|August 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He lived in the Pseudo office, where his downstairs neighbors included Jeff Koons.
A ‘Truman Show’ For Today: The Return of Josh Harris|Anthony Haden-Guest|July 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
My coworkers used to run downstairs to stand on 53rd Street and watch celebrities arrive.
Face It—We Rubes Will Never Live Like Gwyneth and Jennifer Aniston|Rachel Bertsche|July 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The night wore on, and the clock downstairs was striking the hour of two when she suddenly awakened.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
He could lie in bed and string himself tales of travel and adventure while Harry was downstairs.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
Shrieking inarticulate anathema, he rushed downstairs, the man in the green baize apron following at his heels.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
The detective went downstairs and talked with Mrs. McCarthy a few minutes, and then took his leave.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
She was so bewildered as to be more alive to the present distress of his condition than to the vague horrors downstairs.
The Daisy Chain|Charlotte Yonge

British Dictionary definitions for downstairs

downstairs

/ (ˈdaʊnˈstɛəz) /

adverb

down the stairs; to or on a lower floor

noun

a lower or ground floor
(as modifier)a downstairs room

British informal, old-fashioned the servants of a household collectivelyCompare upstairs (def. 6)

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

downstairs

Origin of downstairs

Words nearby downstairs

Words related to downstairs

How to use downstairs in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for downstairs