a narrative, either true or fictitious, in prose or verse, designed to interest, amuse, or instruct the hearer or reader; tale.
a fictitious tale, shorter and less elaborate than a novel.
such narratives or tales as a branch of literature.
song and story.
the plot or succession of incidents of a novel, poem, drama, etc..
The characterizations were good, but the story was weak.
a narration of an incident or a series of events or an example of these that is or may be narrated, as an anecdote, joke, etc.
a narration of the events in the life of a person or the existence of a thing, or such events as a subject for narration.
the story of medicine; the story of his life.
a report or account of a matter; statement or allegation.
The story goes that he rejected the offer.
a lie or fabrication.
What he said about himself turned out to be a story.
Obsolete. history.
to ornament with pictured scenes, as from history or legend.
Obsolete. to tell the history or story of.
a complete horizontal section of a building, having one continuous or practically continuous floor.
the set of rooms on the same floor or level of a building.
any major horizontal architectural division, as of a façade or the wall of a nave.
a layer.
Joseph, 1779–1845, U.S. jurist.
William Wetmore 1819–95, U.S. sculptor and poet.
a narration of a chain of events told or written in prose or verse
Also called: short story. a piece of fiction, briefer and usually less detailed than a novel
Also called: story line. the plot of a book, film, etc
an event that could be the subject of a narrative
a report or statement on a matter or event
the event or material for such a report
informal a lie, fib, or untruth
to leave out details in a narration
informal the familiar or regular course of events
it is commonly said or believed
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English stori(e), store, “(written or oral) narrative; history,” from Anglo-French (e)storie ( Old French estoire), from Latin historia history
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English stori(e), from Anglo-Latin (hi)storia architecture term for a picture decorating a building, a part of the building so decorated, hence floor, story, from Latin historia history
If your little brother begs you to tell him a story, he wants to hear a short, entertaining tale. A narrative about people and events, usually including an interesting plot, is a story. A story can be fictional or true, and it can be written, read aloud, or made up on the spot. Journalists write stories for newspapers, and gossips spread stories that may or may not be true. A story can be historical; the root of story, the Latin word historia, means both "history" and "story."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Kim is sharing her story during Glioblastoma Awareness Week, hoping that future families might be offered more options and face a different outcome.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Would they be open to revisiting Charlie and Nick’s love story as older adults?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
The inside story of IBM’s shocking profit warning.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
Readers are digging into various editions of the story so they can be ready to watch Matt Damon play Odysseus on his 10-year journey home following the Trojan War.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
But I didn’t offer the story, and he didn’t ask.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
Pixar affirms this by incorporating a Totoro cameo into “Toy Story 3.”
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
Couple this book with Edward Chancellor’s also excellent The Price of Time: The Real Story of Interest, published in 2022, and you can learn most of what you need to think intelligently about bonds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
"Love Story" drummed up controversy -- and viewers -- with its revisiting of the A-list couple's courtship and untimely deaths, but it only earned six nominations.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
The Bafta-award winning actor is known for his starring roles in the film Blue Story and Netflix series Top Boy.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
“Heard you was looking for these hands,” a tiny voice shouted from inside the Story Box.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
Coming from the world of young-adult fiction — where she notes stories of queer joy are abundant — Oseman recalls being surprised that “Heartstopper” was treated as an anomaly in mainstream media.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
A 2022 a BBC Disclosure investigation uncovered claims of inappropriate behaviour by Watt towards female staff, and revealed that Brewdog violated import laws and fabricated many of its marketing stories.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Our response to other people’s stories is shaped by our own experiences.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
Letterboxd was once a shining beacon among all of these horror stories, which already had their own unique problems before their formal acquisitions.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
Nim listened hard so that she could remember the stories forever, after Alex left, and tried not to think about when that would happen.
From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr
The pair will resume one of international football's most storied rivalries at the Atlanta Stadium, as England bid to defeat the defending champions and reach their first World Cup final since 1966.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
The Academy Award-winning star and her husband, director Taylor Hackford, have relisted their longtime Hollywood Hills estate for just a touch under $13 million after completing an extensive renovation at the storied property.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
In France, officials announced that Monday's third stage of the Tour de France cycling race through the Pyrenees would take place without spectators who normally line the routes of the storied competition.
From Barron's ● Jul. 5, 2026
That meant that Messi had to conjure magic—or risk what is almost certainly the final World Cup of his storied career on the crapshoot of penalties.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
Since he had started at the paper in 1910, Brougham had become something of a local legend, renowned for his uncanny ability to extract information from storied figures like Babe Ruth and Jack Dempsey.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
I mean this book doesn't do a lot of war storying.
From The New Yorker ● Oct. 17, 2018
Behold now! of my godhead I will make Thy senses burn with vision, storying The spirit of woman growing from loved to love.
From Emblems Of Love by Abercrombie, Lascelles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
