above stairs
US/əˌbʌv ˈstɝs/
above stairs prepositional phrase: upstairs; in or on an upper floor.
Prepositional phrase
- Upstairs; in or on an upper floor.
- The Phyſician now arrived, and began to enquire of the two Diſputants, how we all did above Stairs? 'In a miſerable Way,' anſwered Thwackum.1749, Henry Fielding, “Containing Matter Rather Natural than Pleasing”, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume II, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, page 183
- She took him to a room above-stairs, and introduced him to a bed on which a magnified bolster, in yellow calico, figured as a counterpane.1877 February, Henry James, Jr., chapter XIX, in The American, Boston, Mass.: James R[ipley] Osgood and Company, […], published 5 May 1877, →OCLC, page 334
- In or pertaining to the part of a large house, typically the above-ground rooms, in which the owning family lives, contrasted with below stairs where the servants are accommodated.
Noun
above stairs (uncountable)
- The part of a building above the ground level.
Forms of above stairs
| alternative form | above-stairs |
|---|---|
| alternative form | abovestairs |
Questions about above stairs
- What does above stairs mean?
- Above stairs means upstairs; in or on an upper floor.
- What part of speech is above stairs?
- Above stairs can be a prepositional phrase or a noun.
- How do you pronounce above stairs?
- Above stairs is pronounced /əˌbʌv ˈstɝs/ (US).
Words near above stairs in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: above stairs (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “above stairs.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/above_stairs. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.