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upstairs.

Located on a higher floor or level of a building.

8 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/ˌʌpˈstɛɹz/General-American/ˈʌpˌstɛɹz/General-American/ˌʌpˈstɛəz/Received-Pronunciation/ˈʌpˌstɛəz/Received-Pronunciation

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

    We rent out the upstairs bedroom to a student.

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

    informal
    That fastball was upstairs for a ball.

  3. Originating in or associated with a higher matrix clause, as opposed to a lower embedded clause.

Where this word comes from

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 English -s English upstairs From up- + stair + -s.

adv/ˌʌpˈstɛɹz/General-American/ˈʌpˌstɛɹz/General-American/ˌʌpˈstɛəz/Received-Pronunciation/ˈʌpˌstɛəz/Received-Pronunciation

  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.

  2. In the brain or mind.

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

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

    informal

  4. In or to a higher matrix clause, as opposed to a lower embedded clause.

Where this word comes from

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 English -s English upstairs From up- + stair + -s.

noun/ˌʌpˈstɛɹz/General-American/ˈʌpˌstɛɹz/General-American/ˌʌpˈstɛəz/Received-Pronunciation/ˈʌpˌstɛəz/Received-Pronunciation

  1. An upper storey.

    an upstairs bathroom

  2. A woman's breasts.

    euphemistic · slang
Where this word comes from

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 English -s English upstairs From up- + stair + -s.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.