story - Dictionary Definition : Vocabulary.com

If your little brother begs you to tell him a story, he wants to hear a short, entertaining tale.

A narrative about people and events, usually including an interesting plot, is a story. A story can be fictional or true, and it can be written, read aloud, or made up on the spot. Journalists write stories for newspapers, and gossips spread stories that may or may not be true. A story can be historical; the root of story, the Latin word historia, means both "history" and "story."

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: story

1	n	a record or narrative description of past events
2	n	a structure consisting of a room or set of rooms at a single position along a vertical scale

FULL DEFINITIONS OF: story

1

n a record or narrative description of past events

“the story of exposure to lead”

Synonyms:: account, chronicle, history

Examples:: Parallel Lives
a collection of biographies of famous pairs of Greeks and Romans written by Plutarch; used by Shakespeare in writing some of his plays

Types:: show 13 types...; hide 13 types...; ancient history
a history of the ancient world; etymology
a history of a word; case history
detailed record of the background of a person or group under study or treatment; historical document, historical paper, historical record
writing having historical value (as opposed to fiction or myth etc.); annals, chronological record
a chronological account of events in successive years; biography, life, life history, life story
an account of the series of events making up a person's life; recital
a detailed account or description of something; folk etymology
a popular but erroneous etymology; family history
part of a patient's medical history in which questions are asked in an attempt to find out whether the patient has hereditary tendencies toward particular diseases; anamnesis, medical history, medical record
the case history of a medical patient as recalled by the patient; autobiography
a biography of yourself; hagiography
a biography that idealizes or idolizes the person (especially a person who is a saint); profile
biographical sketch

Type of:: record
anything (such as a document or a phonograph record or a photograph) providing permanent evidence of or information about past events

n a piece of fiction that narrates a chain of related events

“he writes stories for the magazines”

Examples:: Pilgrim's Progress
an allegory written by John Bunyan in 1678

Types:: show 18 types...; hide 18 types...; adventure story, heroic tale
a story of an adventure; mystery, mystery story, whodunit
a story about a crime (usually murder) presented as a novel or play or movie; love story, romance
a story dealing with love; fable, legend
a story about mythical or supernatural beings or events; short story
a prose narrative shorter than a novel; allegory, apologue, fable, parable
a short moral story (often with animal characters); myth
a traditional story accepted as history; serves to explain the world view of a people; parable
(New Testament) any of the stories told by Jesus to convey his religious message; plot
the story that is told in a novel or play or movie etc.; thriller
a suspenseful adventure story or play or movie; saga
a narrative telling the adventures of a hero or a family; originally (12th to 14th centuries) a story of the families that settled Iceland and their descendants but now any prose narrative that resembles such an account; detective story
a narrative about someone who investigates crimes and obtains evidence leading to their resolution; murder mystery
a narrative about a murder and how the murderer is discovered; Arthurian legend
the legend of King Arthur and his court at Camelot; Aesop's fables
a collection of fables believed to have been written by the Greek storyteller Aesop; Gotterdammerung, Ragnarok, Twilight of the Gods
myth about the ultimate destruction of the gods in a battle with evil; action
the series of events that form a plot; plot line, storyline
the plot of a book or play or film

Type of:: fiction
a literary work based on the imagination and not necessarily on fact

n a trivial lie

“how can I stop my child from telling stories?”

Synonyms:: fib, tale, taradiddle, tarradiddle

Types:: cock-and-bull story, fairy story, fairy tale, fairytale, song and dance
an interesting but highly implausible story; often told as an excuse

Type of:: lie, prevarication
a statement that deviates from or perverts the truth

n a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program

“Disney's stories entertain adults as well as children”

Synonyms:: narration, narrative, tale

Examples:: Canterbury Tales
an uncompleted series of tales written after 1387 by Geoffrey Chaucer; Arabian Nights' Entertainment
a collection of folktales in Arabic dating from the 10th century

Types:: show 6 types...; hide 6 types...; tearjerker
an excessively sentimental narrative; tall tale
an improbable (unusual or incredible or fanciful) story; folk tale, folktale
a tale circulated by word of mouth among the common folk; sob story, sob stuff
a sentimental story (or drama) of personal distress; designed to arouse sympathy; fairy story, fairy tale, fairytale
a story about fairies; told to amuse children; nursery rhyme
a tale in rhymed verse for children

Type of:: content, message, subject matter, substance
what a communication that is about something is about

n a short account of the news

“the story was on the 11 o'clock news”

Synonyms:: account, news report, report, write up

Types:: show 8 types...; hide 8 types...; newsletter, newssheet
report or open letter giving informal or confidential news of interest to a special group; bulletin
a brief report (especially an official statement issued for immediate publication or broadcast); communique, despatch, dispatch
an official report (usually sent in haste); urban legend
a story that appears mysteriously and spreads spontaneously in various forms and is usually false; contains elements of humor or horror and is popularly believed to be true; exclusive, scoop
a news report that is reported first by one news organization; market letter
a newsletter written by an analyst of the stock market and sold to subscribers; flash, news bulletin, newsbreak, newsflash
a short news announcement concerning some on-going news story; information bulletin
a bulletin containing the latest information

Type of:: news
information reported in a newspaper or news magazine

2

n a structure consisting of a room or set of rooms at a single position along a vertical scale

Synonyms:: floor, level, storey

Types:: show 9 types...; hide 9 types...; basement, cellar
the lowermost portion of a structure partly or wholly below ground level; often used for storage; first floor, ground floor, ground level
the floor of a building that is at or nearest to the level of the ground around the building; attic, garret, loft
floor consisting of open space at the top of a house just below roof; often used for storage; loft
floor consisting of a large unpartitioned space over a factory or warehouse or other commercial space; entresol, mezzanine, mezzanine floor
intermediate floor just above the ground floor; artist's loft
a factory loft that has been converted into an artist's workroom and living area; cellarage
a storage area in a cellar; cockloft
a small loft or garret; hayloft, haymow, mow
a loft in a barn where hay is stored

Type of:: construction, structure
a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts