Word.ws English Dictionary

back-stairs

back-stairs is the alternative form of backstairs.

Meaning of backstairs

Noun

backstairs pl (plural only)

  1. (plural, plural-only) A staircase at the rear of a building or one normally only used by servants and tradesmen.
    • Here I diſcovered the ſecret Cauſes of many great Events that have ſurprized the World, how a Whore can govern the Back-ſtairs, the Back-ſtairs a Council, and the Council a Senate.1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “A Further Account of Glubbdubdrib. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume II, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte...
  2. (plural, plural-only) An indirect or furtive means of access or intercourse.
    • The straight-forward course, they say, would be to proclaim outright, instead of trying to bring it in by the backstairs.1934 March 27, “De Valera Move Hits Dignity Of Governor-General”, in Christian Science Monitor

See all 4 meanings of backstairs

Questions about back-stairs

What is back-stairs the alternative form of?
Back-stairs is the alternative form of backstairs.

Words near back-stairs in the dictionary

  1. back-slapping
  2. back-spelling
  3. back-spotface
  4. back-stabbing
  5. back-stabby
  6. back-stairs
  7. back-stop
  8. back-stops
  9. back-stories
  10. back-story
  11. back-street

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: back-stairs (page history and authors); backstairs (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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