story1
/ˈstɔːri
/- There are romance stories, historical stories and adventures.
- I write adventure stories, thrillers, so most of my heroes spend their time running after the bad guys.
- His most recent work shows that a novel of philosophical analysis can be a real story.
Synonyms
- As the plot unfolds, the story begins to collapse under the weight of its unanswered questions.
- Shock revelations follow as the story unravels, the plot thickens and the audience grows more intrigued.
- But I think we always return because we are hungry for the same story, the same plot.
Synonyms
- For centuries, if not longer, there have been rumours and stories about a giant bird living in the remote areas of Australia.
- In his letters, he gossips, tells wicked stories and speaks the unguarded truth.
- He fed his in-crowd with stories, gossip, tips and steers.
Synonyms
Synonyms
- The story that news papers would of course like to run is imminent collapse and absolute disaster.
- Obviously we will be bringing you many other big news stories in your favourite newspaper over the coming 12 months.
- We only hope they will at least provide more careful, balanced statements during live broadcasts or in newspaper stories.
Synonyms
- Like me, it is a bit wrinkled and frayed at the edges but it recalls a moment of history in the life story of Britain's railway industry.
- His life story is one of the most extraordinary tales in the history of the game.
- A reformed heroin addict turned property developer is hoping to film part of his life story in Swindon.
- At best, it will make some detainees feel better by letting them tell their side of the story.
- Apart from issuing a few brief statements, the failed viceroy has yet to face the media to tell his side of the story.
- Analysts and investors are just not listening to our side of the story.
Synonyms
- If it had happened at night then the story might have been different.
- But it was a different story when an easier chance fell for him a minute later.
- It is a story that has worrying similarities with the experiences of farmers elsewhere.
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 make) a long story short
Origin
Middle English (denoting a historical account or representation): shortening of Anglo-Norman French estorie, from Latin historia (see history).
Both storey and story (and indeed history) come from Latin historia ‘history, story’. A story was initially a historical account or representation, usually involving passages of bible history and legends of the saints. From the 1500s the word was used in connection with fictitious events for the entertainment of people. As for storey, which is essentially the same word, there may have originally been a reference to tiers of painted windows or sculptures used to decorate the front of a building, each one representing a historical subject. So each tier was a different ‘story’ or, once the spelling changed, ‘storey’. Eventually the word came to refer to a level or floor of a building. At some time in the 1930s or before, someone told a long, rambling anecdote about a dog with shaggy hair. It must have caught the public imagination, as ever since then any long rambling story or joke that is only amusing because it is absurdly inconsequential or pointless has been a shaggy-dog story.