stairwell

Or stair well

[stair-wel]

noun

1. the vertical shaft or opening containing a stairway.

stairwell

/ ˈstɛəˌwɛl /

noun

1. a vertical shaft or opening that contains a staircase

Word History and Origins

Origin of stairwell¹

First recorded in 1915–20; stair + well ²

Example Sentences

His voice echoed through the empty rooms of the ground-floor home he and his wife had escaped via a courtyard stairwell.

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The fuse box was burnt out and clothes dried on wire stretched across the stairwell.

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A few months later, Xenarios, already working as a social worker, arrived to interview a resident at a Harlem apartment building and was grabbed at knifepoint by a man in the stairwell.

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The renovations will also afford guests a chance to access “the vault,” the second-floor art storage space that has thus far only been visible through stairwell windows.

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A court later heard he murdered her there and hid her body in a stairwell.

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Related Words

• staircase