Upstairs Meaning
/ˌʌpˈstɛɹz/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjLocated on a higher floor or level of a building.
adjPertaining to a pitched ball that is high, and usually outside the strike zone.
Sentence Examples
After an awkward pause, Bill took her by the hand and dragged her upstairs.
Would you carry my luggage upstairs?
They complained about the excessive noise coming from the upstairs flat.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
None
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
After dinner, she went ____ to fetch her coat from the bedroom closet.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I left my mobile phone ____ on the bedside table, so I will have to go and get it now today.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree English up- Proto-Indo-European *steygʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *stéygʰeti Proto-Germanic *stīganą Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Germanic *-janą Proto-Germanic *staigijaną Proto-Indo-European *-rós Proto-Germanic *-raz Proto-Germanic *staigraz Proto-Germanic *staigriz Proto-West Germanic *staigri Old English stǣġer Middle English steire English stair Old English -as Middle English -es English -s English upstairs From up- + stair + -s.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"There was more dancing and singing up stairs, more wit and conversation below; all were at liberty, and all stayed late; and all talked so much of the happiness they had enjoyed, that Lady Anne felt herself exceedingly tempted to give another party before the season finally closed."
— 1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XX, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 255:
"In a large bedroom upstairs, the window of which was thickly curtained with a great woollen shawl lately discarded by the landlady, Mrs. Rolliver, were gathered on this evening nearly a dozen persons, all seeking vinous bliss; […]"
— 1891, Thomas Hardy, chapter IV, in Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented […], volume I, London: James R[ipley] Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., […], →OCLC, phase the first (The Maiden), pages 40–41:
"On arrival at Birmingham New Street, I make my way upstairs to the mezzanine to get shots of an almost deserted concourse, polka-dotted with social distancing circles like some strange board-game."
— 2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 68:
"I guess I'm just used to sailors / I think they got water on the brain / I think they got more water upstairs / Than they got sugar on a candy cane"
— 1982 September 24, Prince, “Nasty Girl”, in Vanity 6, performed by Vanity 6, track 1:
Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
After dinner, she went ____ to fetch her coat from the bedroom closet.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I left my mobile phone ____ on the bedside table, so I will have to go and get it now today.