downstairs

American  

[doun-stairz, doun-stairz] / ˈdaʊnˈstɛərz, ˈdaʊnˌstɛərz /

adverb

1. down the stairs.

2. to or on a lower floor.

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adjective

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

noun

1. (used with a singular verb) the lower floor or floors of a building.

   The downstairs is being painted.

2. the stairway designated for use by people descending.

   Don't try to go up the downstairs.

downstairs British  

/ ˈdaʊnˈstɛəz /

adverb

1. down the stairs; to or on a lower floor

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noun

1. 1. a lower or ground floor

   2. ( as modifier )

      a downstairs room

2. informal the servants of a household collectively Compare upstairs

Etymology

Origin of downstairs

First recorded in 1590–1600; down ¹ + stair + -s ³

Explanation

Something that's downstairs is located below you, down at least one flight of stairs on a lower floor. Your downstairs bathroom is the one on the first floor of your house. If your baseball breaks a neighbor's downstairs window, it means you hit the ball low, and when your friend says you can stay in his downstairs bedroom, you'll be sleeping on the lowest floor of his house. Downstairs is also an adverb, so you can run downstairs or trip and fall downstairs. Occasionally people also use it as a noun: "The downstairs is a mess, but we painted all of the rooms upstairs."

Example Sentences

Downstairs outside the ballroom, security sprang into action.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026

Downstairs, there are three other bedrooms that are just as chic and can “easily double as a rec room, office, or creative space” and come complete with their own fireplaces.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 9, 2026

Downstairs in the exhibition galleries is his related sculpture of a folding card-table and four metal chairs, rendered in not dissimilar Brobdingnagian proportions.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 25, 2025

Upstairs Downstairs is said to have partly inspired the Downton Abbey series and was later revived and reimagined by the BBC in 2010.

From BBC • Apr. 13, 2025

Downstairs in the living room his Uncle Vernon shouted, “Who the blazes is calling at this time of night?”

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling

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