story1

Pronunciation: /ˈstɔːri/

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Definition of story

noun (plural stories)

1an account of imaginary or real people and events told for entertainment:an adventure story I’m going to tell you a story
a plot or storyline:the novel has a good story
a piece of gossip; a rumour:there have been lots of stories going around, as you can imagine
informal a false statement; a lie:Ellie never told stories—she had always believed in the truth

2a report of an item of news in a newspaper, magazine, or broadcast:stories in the local papers

3an account of past events in someone’s life or in the development of something:the story of modern farming the film is based on a true story
a particular person’s representation of the facts of a matter:during police interviews, Harper changed his story
[in singular] a situation viewed in terms of the information known about it or its similarity to another:having such information is useful, but it is not the whole story United kept on trying but it was the same old story—no luck
(the story) informal the facts about the present situation:What’s the story on this man? Is he from around here?

4the commercial prospects or circumstances of a particular company:the investors' flight to profitable businesses with solid stories

Phrases

but that's another story: informal used after raising a matter to indicate that one does not want to expand on it for now.
end of story: see end.
it's a long story: informal used to indicate that, for now, one does not want to talk about something that is too painful or complicated.
it's (or that's) the story of one's life: informal used as a resigned acknowledgement that one has experienced a particular misfortune too often: ‘He’s more likely to have run off with a dancer,’ Laura said bitterly. ‘It’s the story of my life.’
the story goes: it is said or rumoured:the story goes that he’s fallen out with his friends
to cut (or North American make) a long story short: used to end an account of events quickly:to cut a long story short, I married Stephen

Origin:

Middle English (denoting a historical account or representation): shortening of Anglo-Norman French estorie, from Latin historia (see history)

Do not confuse story with storey. Story means 'an account told to people to entertain them' (an adventure story), whereas storey means 'a floor of a building' (a three-storey house). In American English, the spelling story is used for both senses.

story in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of story in the US English dictionary

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Other

story1

noun (plural stories)

Phrases

but that's another story

end of story

it's a long story

it's (or that's) the story of one's life

the story goes

to cut (or North American make) a long story short

Origin:

story in other Oxford dictionaries

Nearby words

More results for story

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