flagstaff

[flag-staf, -stahf]

See more synonyms for flagstaff on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural flag·staves, flag·staffs.

flagpole.

Show More

Origin of flagstaff

First recorded in 1605–15; flag¹ + staff¹

Flagstaff

[flag-staf, -stahf]

noun

a city in central Arizona. About 6900 feet (2100 meters) high.

Show More

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for flagstaff

Contemporary Examples

I could see a thunderhead boiling up above Flagstaff, Arizona, 350 miles to the west.
Sky Wars: Richard Branson’s Rival in the Great Space Race
Tom Sykes
October 7, 2014
In 2010, in what it says was the first such effort by a U.S. utility, APS placed panels on 125 homes in Flagstaff—for no charge.
Panel Discussion
The Daily Beast
September 8, 2014
The Flagstaff fire, though a trifling 300 acres, threatened Boulder and activated a top-level fire team.
Colorado Blazes Remind Us That National Policy on Fire Needs a Fix
Stephen J. Pyne
June 29, 2012

Historical Examples

He reached the step below the terrace on which the flagstaff stood.
The Island Mystery
George A. Birmingham
Then he sat down on the steps below the flagstaff and lit a pipe.
The Island Mystery
George A. Birmingham
He halted for a minute on the terrace where the flagstaff was.
The Island Mystery
George A. Birmingham
For erecting a flagstaff and forming a fence, the Staff is very useful.
Boy Scouts Handbook
Boy Scouts of America
"A sailor found them by the flagstaff that—that night," sobbed Mrs. Cheyne.
"Captains Courageous"
Rudyard Kipling

Word Origin and History for flagstaff

n.

1610s, from flag (n.) + staff (n.). The settlement in Arizona, U.S., so called for a July 4, 1876, celebration in which a large flag was flown from a tall tree.

Show More

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper