step stool
- noun
- /ˈstɛp stuːl/
- US
- Somebody get Freddy a step stool.
- climbed onto a step stool
- wooden step stool
- folds the step stool
Examples
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Also, instead of lifting up toddlers, our daycare has a step stool so kids in the 2s room can climb up to the changing table themselves.
Blog text (26) -
The step stool made it easy for the child to climb up and wash his hands at the sink.
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A step stool will be provided for Martin so he can use it.
Blog text (2) -
I use the step stool to access all the upper cabinets.
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Just buy the Elmo seat for the toilet and a step stool for her.
Blog text (17) -
Before we moved the step stool, Martine climbed onto it and took down all the curtains.
Fiction book (1998) -
Above it was an overhead lamp, but I couldn't reach its chain, so I dragged over a step stool.
Fiction book (1990) -
I use the step stool to reach the top shelf in my kitchen.
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After Pru finished her chores, she folded the step stool and stored it in the closet.
Synonyms
A frame with steps used to climb up or down
A small folding tool with steps you climb to reach high places
A short portable structure with flat steps and two sides joined at the top to form an A shape
How High
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is directly built from 'step' (a foot-placement on stairs) and 'stool' (a small seat), so the combined idea of a small, step-like stool used to reach higher places is immediately inferable. The construction is compositional and mirrors equivalent forms in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily understand the meaning.
Etymology
Step stool is a small stool with one or two steps that you stand on to reach high shelves or cupboards. So the name comes from the idea of a step plus a stool, and it means 'a small stool used to reach higher places'.