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story noun (1)

sto·​ry | \ ˈstȯr-ē  \

plural stories

Definition of story (Entry 1 of 5)

1

a

: an account of incidents or events

b

: a statement regarding the facts pertinent to a situation in question

c

: ANECDOTE

especially : an amusing one

2

a

: a fictional narrative shorter than a novel

specifically : SHORT STORY

b

: the intrigue or plot of a narrative or dramatic work

3

: a widely circulated rumor

4

: LIE, FALSEHOOD

5

: LEGEND, ROMANCE

6

: a news article or broadcast

7

: MATTER, SITUATION

8

archaic

a

: HISTORY sense 1

b

: HISTORY sense 3

story verb

storied; storying

Definition of story (Entry 2 of 5)

transitive verb

1

: to adorn with a story or a scene from history

2

archaic : to narrate or describe in story

story noun (2)

\ ˈstȯr-ē  \

variants: or less commonly storey

plural stories also storeys

Definition of story (Entry 3 of 5)

1

a

: the space in a building between two adjacent floor levels or between a floor and the roof

b

: a set of rooms in such a space

c

: a unit of measure equal to the height of the story of a building

one story high

2

: a horizontal division of a building's exterior not necessarily corresponding exactly with the stories within

Story biographical name (1)

Sto·​ry | \ ˈstȯr-ē  \

Definition of Story (Entry 4 of 5)

Joseph 1779–1845 American jurist

Story biographical name (2)

Definition of Story (Entry 5 of 5)

William Wetmore 1819–1895 son of Joseph Story American sculptor

Other Words from story

Noun (1)

storylike \ ˈstȯr-​ē-​ˌlīk  \ or story-like adjective

 storylike narratives

First Known Use of story

Noun (1)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 8a

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

History and Etymology for story

Noun (1)

Middle English storie, from Anglo-French estoire, estorie, from Latin historia — more at HISTORY

Noun (2)

Middle English storie, from Medieval Latin historia narrative, illustration, story of a building, from Latin, history, tale; probably from narrative friezes on the window level of medieval buildings

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Time Traveler for story

The first known use of story was in the 13th century

See more words from the same century

From the Editors at Merriam-Webster

6 Words for Unbelievable Stories

This next one's a doozy.

7 Good Stories That Just Aren't True

No, that's not where that word comes from

Dictionary Entries Near story

Stornoway

story

Story

See More Nearby Entries 

Phrases Related to story

a long story

another story

another thing/matter/story

Statistics for story

Cite this Entry

“Story.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/story. Accessed 29 Aug. 2021.

Style: MLA

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More Definitions for storystory noun

sto·​ry | \ ˈstȯr-ē  \

plural stories

Kids Definition of story (Entry 1 of 2)

1

: a report about incidents or events : ACCOUNT

Let's hear your story of what happened.

2

: a short often amusing tale

My grandfather tells stories of his childhood.

3

: a fictional tale shorter than a novel

4

: a widely told rumor

5

: LIE entry 3, FALSEHOOD

They made up a story of how the window got broken.

story noun

sto·​ry

variants: also storey \ ˈstȯr-​ē \

plural stories also storeys

Kids Definition of story (Entry 2 of 2)

: a set of rooms or an area making up one floor level of a building

The building is 20 stories high.

More from Merriam-Webster on story

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for story

Nglish: Translation of story for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of story for Arabic Speakers

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