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There is a specific word that describes the stairs before the door like in the picture here.

picture

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  • No need to add front because in such context, the word stoop includes it.
    – Maulik V
    Sep 21, 2015 at 6:32
  • veranda might be an alternative to porch
    – Pete
    May 26, 2017 at 23:17

3 Answers 3

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I call them "front steps". I live in Seattle.

My grandparents from Chicago would have called them a "front stoop".

My impression is that they are called a "stoop" in areas where row houses are common in big cities. This might be a coincidence: Etymonline says that this meaning of the word "stoop" is derived from Dutch. New York City was originally settled by the Dutch, and is at the center of the North American "areas where row houses are common in big cities."

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    Being from Chicago area, I have always considered the Stoop as being the landing, at either the top or bottom of the steps, but not the steps themselves. Oct 24, 2016 at 15:36
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In the UK "steps" or "front steps". In the UK a 'door step' is the single step up in front of a door (possibly two) - not steps in a flight such as these. They would not be called stairs. We also do not use 'stoops' in the UK.

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Some of us would call it a "stoop" or a "front stoop," as in the third definition here. That may vary by region in the U.S., but it is said in New England, at least.

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    It's a big-city usage, I think. Definitely not rural New England. Spoken as a resident (at different times) of 3 N.E. states. Sep 20, 2015 at 4:08
  • Interesting, thanks. I grew up in Connecticut, but with a lot of New Yorkers!
    – vstrong
    Sep 20, 2015 at 12:58

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