(no subject)

[42itous]

What is the distinction between steps and stairs? (Don't go looking it up, I'm interested in your instinctual response.)

Comments

[redbird]

Trying again because my first comment doesn't seem to have posted: steps are items, stairs are a group. So, "three flights of stairs" but "one step up from the sidewalk." Though I would say/write something like "she sat on the bottom stair."

[42itous]

Iiiinteresting that your usage would disregard your definition. I love these inconsistencies in language.

[redbird]

My other answer would have been "there isn't exactly a difference, but...." Not quite like "the difference between" bucket and pail, or "needs washed" versus "needs washing," where the answer is "there isn't one" (or "if you grew up with "needs washing" you were probably told that 'needs washed' is wrong), but it's not like being asked the difference between dogs and cats, where a person might have trouble defining it but is unlikely to have trouble deciding whether something is a dog, cat, or neither.

[jedusor]

Stairs have a connecting vertical surface, steps just have a gap?

[42itous]

Huh. One reason I asked is that I suspect there may be a regional component in the definitions of the two words. Do you mind sharing: where would you say you spent the most time growing up?

Like my definitions, yours have something to do with the substance (solid or hollow) behind the steps. My stairs tend to be wooden and indoors; my steps tend to be solid (concrete, brick, or stone) and outdoors, although I think I would call wooden ones "stairs" if they're outdoors.

[light_of_summer]

Instinctually, I would say that flights of stairs are made out of steps. You can have just one or two steps, in isolation, but stairs always have at least three steps per flight, and usually more like four to ten steps per flight.

How'd I do?

[42itous]

There's no right or wrong answer, I'm just interested in the qualities that people feel are important for defining steps versus stairs. Indoor vs. outdoor... material they're made of... hollow vs. solid... length of the flight... whether we're talking about the whole flight of stairs or just one or a few steps of it.

If you don't mind sharing, where were you living when you learned most of your English vocabulary?

[light_of_summer]

I learned my English almost entirely in Eureka, California (coastal NorCal), and my parents were also NorCal born and raised.

Interesting about the indoor / outdoor distinction and the materials distinction. I didn't think of those, but since you've pointed them out, I think I would lean towards agreeing with your distinctions onin those areas, rather than being neutral or opposing them.

[coraline]

.... There's a difference?

I think if I look at my head, I mostly use steps for a set of them that aren't enclosed and are outdoors?

[42itous]

Your response is closest to my own definition. I generally think of a set of steps as outside (and solid, like concrete, brick, or stone) and stairs as indoor (and made of wood). But there are exceptions in the way I use the words. For instance, I might say "the bottom step" even if I'm talking about one of a set of indoor wooden stairs. Or I might say "stair;" I feel like they're interchangeable in that case. If there's a flight of stone stairs indoors, like in a mall, I might call it steps. But I think I would call outdoor wooden steps "steps," not stairs.

[volta]

Assuming you are considering these words only in the context of physical items you can use to change elevation, I believe stairs are made of individual steps. In practical usage, for stairways that are outdoors or less than half a story, I would call them steps, otherwise stairs. "I climbed up the front steps, then I went inside and took the stairs down to the basement."

[42itous]

Interesting. Your definition takes into account both the length of the flight and the location (indoors or outdoors). Mine is more focused on the location and the substance (wood, concrete, etc) than the size, although I think even if it's indoors and made of wood I would call a single one a step. I think I would say, "I had to walk up the first two stairs before I could reach the lightswitch." But if we're talking about down to the basement, "I had to walk down the first two steps before I could reach the lightswitch." I wonder why that is -- maybe because it's not living-space? See, this is why I asked in the first place, because otherwise I never would have learned that about my own language habits!

steps and stairs

[cos]

Stairs are groups of steps but only if they're arranged in the usual way, all in a row (or spiral or maybe some other regular formation), sloping up or down, so that you can ascend or descend them in sequence. Sometimes I may call an individual step a stair, but only if it's part of a group of stairs; I'd feel weird referring to a lone step that way. Or to a step that's part of a haphazardly arranged group, that isn't arranged as stairs.

Re: steps and stairs

[42itous]

I'm having trouble imagining a haphazardly arranged group of steps.

[audesapere]

Stairs are for diagonal transportation. Steps are the ambulatory actions used to achieve this feat, on your own feet.

[42itous]

Does this mean that the things you would walk on if you were climbing up to the front porch of a house would be called stairs? I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just curious about how different people use these words differently.

[bitty]

probably number? if it's a couple of steps into a front door, i think of them as steps. if it's a flight or more, i think of them as stairs.