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staircase
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
staircase
noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
moving staircase
spiral staircase
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
back
▪ She herself would use the back staircase as the entrance to her flat, approaching it from the courtyard.
▪ She went downstairs to make coffee, using a back staircase to the kitchen.
▪ Kali and Jit moved out of the way of the back staircase and the sheep flooded down past them.
▪ She now hurried round the corner and into the yard and there she knocked on the back staircase door.
▪ Higher than from the back staircase like Cardiff said.
▪ They'd there's a little back staircase that goes down to the kitchens - sorry, lad, galley!
▪ Picking up his suitcase he headed towards the back staircase.
▪ The back staircase collapsed a few weeks later.
curving
▪ I have never seen anything like that hall, with its lovely curving staircase.
▪ Karl von Bruhel, waiting impatiently at the foot of the curving marble staircase to greet his guests, glanced angrily upwards.
▪ They climbed the curving staircase to the first floor and rang a bell.
grand
▪ There was a grand marble staircase, spiralling up to the eaves and the upper areas of the casino.
▪ His hostess was beginning to wilt as she greeted the guests who, by now, were queuing half-way up the grand staircase.
▪ They walked up a grand staircase, first the minder, then Sylvie, then Alexei.
▪ If only I had a crinoline to sweep down the grand staircase in!
▪ At seven-thirty Paige descended the grand sweeping staircase to the hall.
▪ Inside, a grand and generous staircase rose from a pale stone flagged hall patterned with black stone diamonds.
▪ A grand staircase went to nowhere.
great
▪ Down the great wide wooden staircase and into the hall: I am sharp, she thought.
▪ You see her coming down a great staircase in your house, dressed in a velvet negligee.
▪ The study doors are those that face one as one comes down the great staircase.
▪ A great staircase is then lowered from the back of the stage.
▪ She went through the hall to the ante-room below the great upward-plunging staircase.
▪ The great wide wooden staircase into the empty hall with its patterned marble floor.
▪ These provided a view of the great central staircase.
main
▪ There was the main staircase she had climbed with Clive a while - how long? - ago.
▪ As I came down the main staircase in Hovde House, they emerged into the hall below.
▪ Features clearly cast in Harvey's foundry include the iron balustrade over the porch and the balusters of the main staircase.
▪ A massive walk-in metal safe was built into a space near the main staircase.
▪ On the small landing at the top of the main staircase he stopped to examine his reflection in the mirror.
▪ The main staircase must be near, somewhere in the centre of the house.
▪ They were standing on the main staircase, two flights up from the party room.
▪ Constance never forgot standing in front of one on the main staircase.
narrow
▪ But then they began to climb up a narrow, spiral staircase, and she saw no more.
▪ Thick smoke billowed up a narrow staircase and smothered the sleeping youngsters in their second-floor bedroom.
▪ A china light-switch, finger-flicked, showed her a narrow wooden staircase.
▪ I descend the narrow, creaky staircase and notice another public-service-law-oriented program on the lower floors.
▪ I climbed a narrow staircase leading to the first floor balcony.
▪ To find out what, one of us would have to slink down that narrow iron spiral staircase in the dark.
▪ To get a better view, I climbed the narrow staircase leading to the balcony at the top of the east wall.
▪ A narrow spiral staircase leads up from chamber 2b to 2c; characters must ascend in single file.
spiral
▪ The seating areas are constructed on two levels linked by a spiral staircase.
▪ He charged his customers a flat dollar for a trip down his spiral staircase to the foot of the cataract.
▪ I run down the spiral staircase and along the empty corridor.
▪ To find out what, one of us would have to slink down that narrow iron spiral staircase in the dark.
▪ Inside the doorway, a spiral stone staircase climbed, within the thickness of the massive walls.
▪ After the appropriate phone call, I am ask d to walk down an oak spiral staircase one floor.
▪ The Nanny Ogg expeditionary force corkscrewed up the spiral staircase.
wide
▪ Down the great wide wooden staircase and into the hall: I am sharp, she thought.
▪ It led to a five-foot-#wide walnut staircase that swept up in a sumptuous curve to the floor above.
▪ He knew the feel of every cold stone step on the wide staircase leading down to the main hall.
▪ She glanced up the wide staircase.
▪ Flanked by the two men, they walked down a wide marble staircase, and out into the brilliant sunshine.
▪ I had to go up this wide, curving staircase and along about three miles of landing to get to my room.
▪ Once inside, Wasswa, the Minister, beckoned me impatiently from the top of a wide staircase.
▪ Her frozen limbs were dragged up an impressively wide staircase and then along a hallway.
wooden
▪ They clambered up the rickety wooden outside staircase to Louis's workshop in what had been the grooms' quarters.
▪ The space age escalator and exposed metal piping of the foyer segued into a spiraling wooden staircase and crinkly old master prints.
▪ Down the great wide wooden staircase and into the hall: I am sharp, she thought.
▪ Baptiste was standing on the bottom step of the wooden staircase, affecting surprise at the sight of her.
▪ Standing on top of the wooden staircase she hurled herself to the ground, landing in a heap at the bottom.
▪ A china light-switch, finger-flicked, showed her a narrow wooden staircase.
▪ Ranulf scooped his dice into his leather wallet and they went down the spiral wooden staircase and into the hall.
▪ Chewing on her lower lip, she trundled after him along a flagged passageway and up an ornate wooden staircase.
■ NOUN
marble
▪ There was a grand marble staircase, spiralling up to the eaves and the upper areas of the casino.
▪ I am far up above a marble staircase past a balcony in a large room with long tables.
▪ A marble staircase leads to wide corridors of bedrooms, which are comfortably furnished and equipped with modern bathrooms.
▪ Flanked by the two men, they walked down a wide marble staircase, and out into the brilliant sunshine.
▪ Karl von Bruhel, waiting impatiently at the foot of the curving marble staircase to greet his guests, glanced angrily upwards.
▪ Ahead was a short marble staircase, leading to what appeared to be a lecture-room on the next floor.
stone
▪ Open stone staircases swept up to bedrooms that bristled with floor-to-ceiling windows.
▪ I climbed the stone staircase, lit by the dimmest of light bulbs.
▪ She led her up a stone staircase into a small room where Brownies were sitting on wooden toadstools.
▪ She walked down a stone staircase to a basement where you could hang your coat.
▪ I felt around for a switch and threw it down to reveal a stone staircase with iron handrail.
▪ They had walked up the worn stone staircase, arm in arm, with their beautiful girl child dancing around them.
▪ Dressing-room doors opened, voices questioned, feet clattered on the stone staircases.
▪ Inside the doorway, a spiral stone staircase climbed, within the thickness of the massive walls.
■ VERB
climb
▪ When he had finished his tea, he slowly climbed the staircase.
▪ I get confused and climb the wrong staircase.
▪ Finally, they doused the few lights and climbed the hall staircase.
▪ Find out where you lived and climb your staircase, touch the walls you touched, imagine you?
▪ I climbed a narrow staircase leading to the first floor balcony.
▪ The prince walked past all the sleeping nobility and climbed the staircase to the room where Sleeping Beauty slept.
▪ Wall sconces providing a dim light, they climbed the staircase in silence.
▪ Then his feet turned, and shuffled a few steps, and began climbing the long staircase home.
descend
▪ Ruth's legs were soon aching with climbing steps, only to turn and descend another staircase in the opposite direction.
▪ Falling asleep is like descending a staircase, with each stage of sleep becoming deeper than the previous one.
▪ She dried herself, wrapped the soft, fragrant robe around her slim body and cautiously descended the staircase.
▪ At seven-thirty Paige descended the grand sweeping staircase to the hall.
▪ He attempted to descend a steep staircase which had no handrail, whilst holding a small child by the hand.
lead
▪ He knew the feel of every cold stone step on the wide staircase leading down to the main hall.
▪ There had once been an outside staircase leading up to the flat roof but that, too, had collapsed.
▪ I climbed a narrow staircase leading to the first floor balcony.
▪ The physics classroom had a spiral iron staircase leading from it to some region inhabited only by science masters.
▪ Inside, they quietly ascended the huge curved staircase which led to their bedrooms on the upper floor.
▪ To get a better view, I climbed the narrow staircase leading to the balcony at the top of the east wall.
▪ A narrow spiral staircase leads up from chamber 2b to 2c; characters must ascend in single file.
▪ He winced in pain as he climbed down the staircase leading on to the tarmac, where an airline bus awaited him.
use
▪ She herself would use the back staircase as the entrance to her flat, approaching it from the courtyard.
▪ She went downstairs to make coffee, using a back staircase to the kitchen.
▪ I use the left-hand staircase to climb up to the flat.
walk
▪ He walked down the staircase, his shoulders bowed as if by a great weight, and Kate saw him pull himself erect.
▪ She walked down a stone staircase to a basement where you could hang your coat.
▪ Her inspection of the bedroom finished, she walked down the staircase into the coolness of the stone-flagged hallway.
▪ They walked up a grand staircase, first the minder, then Sylvie, then Alexei.
▪ As I emerged, she walked silently towards the staircase, a curious lack of urgency in her manner.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ A small lamp was mounted on an upright stanchion near the head of each staircase.
▪ Adam didn't move until he was sure he could no longer hear her penetrating voice echoing on the staircase.
▪ After the appropriate phone call, I am ask d to walk down an oak spiral staircase one floor.
▪ At each end of the second floor of these dwellings typically were staircases, one for men and one for women.
▪ It led to a five-foot-wide walnut staircase that swept up in a sumptuous curve to the floor above.
▪ She pulled herself back up the spiral staircase and made for the bathroom.
▪ She shook herself slightly and took a final look down the proud granite staircase towards the traffic.
▪ The staircase beckoned up a modest rise, then disappeared around a bend.
Related phrases:
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Staircase

Staircase \Stair"case`\ (st[^a]r"k[=a]s`), n. A flight of stairs with their supporting framework, casing, balusters, etc. To make a complete staircase is a curious piece of architecture. --Sir H. Wotton. Staircase shell. (Zo["o]l.)

  1. Any scalaria, or wentletrap.

  2. Any species of Solarium, or perspective shell.

Related phrases:
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
staircase

also stair-case, 1620s, originally the enclosure of the stairs, from stair + case (n.2) in its sense "frame;" compare former window-case, door-case.

Wiktionary
staircase

n. 1 A flight of stairs; a stairway. 2 A connected set of flights of stairs; a stairwell.

Related phrases:
WordNet
staircase

n. a way of access consisting of a set of steps [syn: stairway, stairs, steps]

Related phrases:
Wikipedia
Staircase (play)

Staircase is a two-character play by Charles Dyer about an aging gay couple who own a barber shop in the East End of London. One of them is a part-time actor about to go on trial for propositioning a police officer. The action takes place over the course of one night as they discuss their loving but often volatile past together and possible future without each other.

The playwright named his characters Charles Dyer (after himself) and Harry C. Leeds, which is an anagram of his name.

In 1966 it was produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company with Paul Scofield and Patrick Magee.

The Broadway production directed by Barry Morse opened on January 10, 1968 at the Biltmore Theatre, where it played for 12 previews and 61 performances. Eli Wallach and Milo O'Shea, who was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play, starred.

Staircase (film)

Staircase is a 1969 film adaptation of a two-character play, also called Staircase, by Charles Dyer. The film, like the play, is about an aging gay couple who own a barber shop in the East End of London. One of them is a part-time actor about to go on trial for propositioning a police officer. The action takes place over the course of one night as they discuss their loving but often volatile past together and possible future without each other.

The two main characters are named Charles Dyer (the name of the playwright/screenwriter) and Harry C. Leeds, which is an anagram of his name.

Staircase (disambiguation)

Staircase can refer to the following:

  • A stairway
  • Staircase locks, a flight of two or more canal locks where the upper gate of one lock is also the lower gate of the one above it
  • Accommodation around a quadrangle in Oxbridge colleges
  • Staircase (play), a 1968 play by Charles Dyer about two aging homosexuals
  • Staircase (film), a 1969 film adaptation of the play
  • Staircase (album), an album by pianist Keith Jarrett
  • Staircase, a 2011 Radiohead song
  • Staircase, a song from the album In the Møde by Roni Size / Reprazent
  • The shape of a function, cf. staircase function
  • The Staircase, a mini-series documenting the trial of Michael Peterson, accused of murdering his wife
Staircase (album)

Staircase is the fourth solo album released on ECM by jazz pianist Keith Jarrett. It features Jarrett performing four solo piano pieces recorded in the studio.

Jarrett and producer Manfred Eicher had arrived at Studio Davout in Paris to record a soundtrack to the film Mon couer est rouge. Finishing early with several hours of studio time left and impressed by the quality of the studio's piano, they spontaneously decided to record this album.

Related phrases:

Usage examples of "staircase".

We three were alone in the lobby of the Met, at the foot of the grand staircase, while all the balletomanes were in their seats for the performance.

A narrow, circular staircase studded with wrought iron balusters twisted upward to a balcony that was lined with more bookshelves.

If she took a step back she would come up hard against the wroughtiron balusters of the spiral staircase.

She went up the large straight staircase with wooden balusters that led to the corridor paved with dusty flags, into which several doors in a row opened, as in a monastery or an inn.

March, and though the sun was shining brightly outside, and the old porter wore his linen jacket, as if it were already spring, there was a cold draught down the staircase, and the Baroness instinctively made haste up the steps, and was glad when she reached the big swinging door covered with red baize and studded with smart brass nails, which gave access to the grand apartment.

Brachis and King Bester hid their discomfort from each other as they left the final ascent tube and walked up a ringing steel staircase out onto the cultivated soil of the city.

She started as she perceived the poet, who walked slowly past her to the staircase, throwing his burnous back from his big shoulders, and stood looking after him.

Sarah, Clover Lee and Magpie Maggie Hag up the long and curving staircase.

She slammed the heavy exterior glass-and-wrought-iron door behind her, climbed the short circular staircase that led up to the front entrance of the maisonette, and let herself in with her key.

When they had passed the outer door at the head of the winding staircase, Malipieri told Masin to lock it after them.

In the south-east corner of the Mellah he placed it, and he built it partly in the Moorish and partly in the English fashion, with an open court and corridors, marble pillars, and a marble staircase, walls of small tiles, and ceilings of stalactites, but also with windows and with doors.

Then while we were expecting every moment that Laporte would order our arrest, milor assumed the personality of the monster, hoodwinked the sergeant on the dark staircase, and by that wonderfully audacious coup saved Mme.

They filled the chairs in the wide old-fashioned hall where Ariel received them, and overpoured on the broad steps of the old-fashioned spiral staircase, where Mr.

Campion as he stumbled up the unfamiliar staircase that Miss Evadne Palinode, even when considered as a possible poisoner, went in for a strange assortment of evening beverages.

It was a tall and rambling old place with many low dim rooms pannelled in dark wood and a great staircase where there was a big hall in the centre into which all the rooms led.