upstairs

See also: up stairs and up-stairs

English

Alternative forms

• up stairs, up-stairs (archaic)

Etymology

Etymology tree

English up-

Proto-Indo-European *steygʰ-

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.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌʌpˈstɛɹz/, /ˈʌpˌstɛɹz/

  • Audio (US); /ˌʌpˈstɛɹz/:

    (file)

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌʌpˈstɛəz/, /ˈʌpˌstɛəz/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ɐpˈsteːz/, /ˈɐpsteːz/
• (New Zealand, cheer–chair merger) IPA^(key): /ɐpˈstiəz/, /ˈɐpˌstiəz/
• (New Zealand, without the cheer–chair merger) IPA^(key): /ɐpˈsteəz/, /ˈɐpˌsteəz/
• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /ʌpˈsteɹz/, /ˈʌpˌsteɹz/
• (Northern England) IPA^(key): /ˌʊpˈstɛːz/, /ˈʊpˌstɛːz/
• (Lancashire, fair–fur merger) IPA^(key): /ʊpˈstɜː(ɹ)z/, /ˈʊpˌstɜː(ɹ)z/
• Hyphenation: up‧stairs
• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)z
• Homophones: upstares; upstirs (fair–fur merger)

Adjective

upstairs (comparative further upstairs or farther upstairs, superlative furthest upstairs or farthest upstairs)

1. Located on a higher floor or level of a building.

   We rent out the upstairs bedroom to a student.

2. (baseball, informal) Pertaining to a pitched ball that is high, and usually outside the strike zone.

   That fastball was upstairs for a ball.

Derived terms

• upstairs-downstairs

Translations

located on a higher floor of a building

• Bulgarian: горе (bg) (gore)
• Chickasaw: aba'
• Esperanto: superŝtupara
• French: en haut (fr)
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: ὑπερῷος (huperōîos)

• Hungarian: fenti (hu), emeleti (hu)
• Persian: طبقهٔ بالا (fa) (tabaqe-ye bâlâ)
• Polish: na górze (pl)
• Ukrainian: ве́рхній по́верх (vérxnij póverx)

Adverb

upstairs (comparative further upstairs or farther upstairs, superlative furthest upstairs or farthest upstairs)

1. Up the stairs; on or to a higher floor or level.

   I’ll take my shoes and put them away the next time I go upstairs.

   I hate the people who live upstairs, and I especially hate their piano.

   The woman upstairs told the people outside to stop reveling.

   • 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:

     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.

   • 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:

     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; […]

   • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

     Marsha, let’s go upstairs!

   • 2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 68:

     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.

2. (informal) In the brain or mind.

   After Joe did a hula dance on the kitchen table, his friends wondered if he didn’t have a lot going on upstairs.

   • 1982 September 24, Prince, “Nasty Girl”, in Vanity 6, performed by Vanity 6, track 1:

     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

3. (informal) In heaven, especially with regard to where a deity might be found.

Antonyms

• downstairs

Derived terms

• boot upstairs
• check upstairs
• go upstairs
• kick upstairs
• Man Upstairs

Translations

up the stairs; on or to a higher floor or level

• Belarusian: (direction) наве́рх (navjérx), уве́рх (uvjérx), ўверх (wvjerx); (location) наве́рсе (navjérsje), уве́рсе (uvjérsje), ўве́рсе (wvjérsje)
• Bulgarian: горе (bg) (gore), на горния етаж (na gornija etaž)
• Catalan: dalt (ca)
• Chickasaw: aba'
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 樓上 / 楼上 (zh) (lóushàng)

• Czech: nahoře (cs) (location); nahoru (cs) (direction)
• Dutch: boven (nl)
• Esperanto: superŝtupare
• Finnish: yläkerrassa (location), yläkertaan (direction)
• French: en haut (fr), à l'étage (fr)
• German: treppauf (de), oben (de), nach oben (where to), herauf (de)
• Greek: πάνω (el) (páno)
• Hungarian: odafönt (hu), odafent (hu), odafenn (hu), az emeleten
• Indonesian: lantai atas
• Irish: suas an staighre (direction), thuas an staighre (location)
• Italian: di sopra
• Japanese: 階上 (ja) (かいじょう, kaijō)
• Korean: 위층에 (ko) (wicheung'e), 위층으로 (ko) (wicheung'euro) (where to)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: سەرەوە (serewe)

• Norman: à haut
• Old English: uppe (where), upp (where to)
• Polish: na górze (pl) (location); na górę (direction)
• Portuguese: em cima (pt)
• Russian: наверху́ (ru) (naverxú) (location), вверху́ (ru) (vverxú) (location), на ве́рхнем этаже́ (na vérxnem etažé) (location); наве́рх (ru) (navérx) (direction), вверх (ru) (vverx) (direction), на ве́рхний эта́ж (na vérxnij etáž) (direction)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: górjejce

• Spanish: arriba (es)
• Sundanese: tonggoh (su)
• Turkish:

  Ottoman Turkish: یوقاری (yukarı)

• Ukrainian: нагорі́ (nahorí) (location), наверху́ (naverxú) (location); наго́ру (nahóru) (direction) наве́рх (navérx) (direction)
• Welsh: lan lofft (South), lan staer (South), i fyny'r grisiau (North)
• Yiddish: אויבן (oybn)
• Yucatec Maya: kaʼanal

Noun

upstairs (plural upstairs)

1. An upper storey.
2. (slang, euphemistic) A woman's breasts.