stairway

/ˈstɛɹweɪ/

//ˈstɛɹweɪ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"stairway" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“stairway” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #24,006. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#24,006
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
12
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A set of steps, with or without a case, that allow one to walk up or down.

Corpus desk

Index EN-stairway · stairway · English

stairway · rank #24,006 · 12 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #24,006
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Sonoma

Nearest frequency peer: Sonoma (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “stairway”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “stairway” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for stairway
PropertyValue
Headwordstairway
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈstɛɹweɪ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#24,006
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “stairway”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).stairwaylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Sonoma” (#24,005), “starry” (#24,007), “solidly” (#24,004). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “stairway” is #24,006. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around stairway (IPA /ˈstɛɹweɪ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #24,006 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A set of steps, with or without a case, that allow one to walk up or down.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for stairway, with forms such as "satirway", "sstairway", and "stairawy". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: stair + way The correct English form is stairway, spelled S-T-A-I-R-W-A-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A set of steps, with or without a case, that allow one to walk up or down.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how stairway appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady. She stood for a moment holding her skirt above the grimy steps, with something of the stately pose which Richter has given his Queen Louise on the stairway,[…].

Etymology

stair + way

Synonyms

staircasestairs

This word in other languages

escalera(Español)escalier(Français)Stiege(Deutsch)escadaria(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • satirway
  • sstairway
  • stairawy
  • stairrway
  • stairwayy
  • stairwway
  • stairwya
  • staiwray
  • stariway
  • stiarway
  • sttairway
  • tsairway

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of stairway - 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.

satirway2sstairway1stairawy2stairrway1stairwayy1stairwway1stairwya2staiwray2
Edit distance from "stairway"

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 "stairway"?
"stairway" is spelled S-T-A-I-R-W-A-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈstɛɹweɪ/.
What does "stairway" mean?
As a noun, "stairway" means: A set of steps, with or without a case, that allow one to walk up or down.
What are common misspellings of "stairway"?
Common misspellings include "satirway", "sstairway", "stairawy", "stairrway", "stairwayy". The correct spelling is "stairway".
How do you pronounce "stairway"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stairway" is /ˈstɛɹweɪ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "stairway"?
stair + way See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "stairway", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

shrapnel#23,994textured#24,022thwarted#24,026Schuster#23,985

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

unifying12 variantswounding12 variantsXinjiang12 variantsPetersen12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list