downstairs
/daʊnˈstɛɹz/
"downstairs" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“downstairs” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #10,843 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #10,843
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 16
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Located on a lower floor.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | downstairs |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /daʊnˈstɛɹz/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #10,843 |
| Misspellings tracked | 16 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “downstairs” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for downstairs is 10 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /daʊnˈstɛɹz/. Corpus data places it at rank #10,843 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Located on a lower floor.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for downstairs, with forms such as "ddownstairs", "donwstairs", and "downnstairs". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From down- + stair + -s. The correct English form is downstairs, spelled D-O-W-N-S-T-A-I-R-S.
Definition
- 1Located on a lower floor.
Etymology
From down- + stair + -s.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddownstairs,donwstairs,downnstairs,downsatirs,downsstairs,downstairrs,downstairss,downstaisr,downstaris,downstiars,downsttairs,downtsairs,dowsntairs,dowwnstairs,dwonstairs,odwnstairs
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of downstairs - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "downstairs"?
What does "downstairs" mean?
What are common misspellings of "downstairs"?
How do you pronounce "downstairs"?
What is the origin of the word "downstairs"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “downstairs”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-O-W-N-S-T-A-I-R-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /daʊnˈstɛɹz/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.