Wiktionary
n. A sturdy supporting post at one end or at a turning point of a staircase banister railing, often topped with a decorative finial. Compare baluster.
WordNet
n. the post at the top or bottom of a flight of stairs; it supports the handrail [syn: newel]
Usage examples of "newel post".
He'd gained his stride, newel to alcove, back to the newel post punctuated by abrupt puffs of smoke, looking out the front door incidentally.
His left leg had given way and when he had tried to reach the newel post for support, he found he could only lift his arm a few inches.
She turned and walked away, and didn't see his legs buckle, or the way his hand shot out to grip the newel post as the truth of what she'd tossed in his face struck him like a fist in the heart.
When Dylan put one hand on the newel post at the bottom of the stairs, he experienced again the predator's psychic spoor, the same that he had found upon the beer can, as clear to him as a fugitive's unique scent is unmistakable to a bloodhound.
She braced a hand on the newel post as she tried to get through the fog in her brain to think.
She gripped the newel post, and the cold sweat on her palms made it slick.
Vertigo assailed him, but he held his ground resolutely, clutching at the newel post with double grip as though it were the staff of life itself.