Word Confusion: Down Stairs versus Downstairs

Posted March 14, 2013 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
11 Nov 2022

I know. It’s not an obvious distinction, and probably more glaring to editors, copyeditors, and proofreaders. The only other possibility for which I can see using down and stairs separately is if the author really wanted to make a point, as in “You will go. Down. Stairs. NOW.”

Besides, think how odd Upstairs, Downstairs would look . . .

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Down the Stairs Downstairs

Downstairs – La Merced by Roger Price © 2009 from Hong Kong was uploaded by Fæ and is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.

Looking down the stairs.


Looking down into an atrium on a lower floor

Inside Main Downstairs Atrium by Open Knowledge Foundation Deutschland from Deutschland is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.

The downstairs atrium.

Part of Grammar:
Adverb Phrase Adverb; Adjective; Noun
See “downstairs”


Use only with the between the words, i.e., down the stairs
Always use it with a singular verb


Adverb:
Down a flight of stairs

Down the stairs

Adjective:
Situated downstairs

Noun:
Ground or lower floor of a building

Examples:
Take a right, then go down the stairs.

Head on down the stairs.

Go down the stairs, you idiot, not up them.

Adverb:
Head on downstairs.

I raced my friend downstairs.

She waited downstairs while her parents were getting dressed.

Adjective:
The bathroom is located downstairs.

Use the downstairs phone.

Talk to the downstairs maid.

Noun:
The downstairs was hardly damaged at all.

It’s a downstairs room.

He went downstairs and into the kitchen.

His two older sisters slept downstairs, for they had to be up first.

History of the Word:
First noted in the mid-1500s.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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Resources for Down Stairs versus Downstairs

Apple Dictionary.com

The Free Dictionary: downstairs

Your Dictionary.com: downstairs

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Pinterest Photo Credits:

Cow Going Down Stairs at City Market, Bangalore, May 2008, by Kiran Jonnalagadda from Bangalore, India, and is under the CC-BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.

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