Meaning & use
riser
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountabletechnical
The vertical part of a stair, between two steps.
Grammar: Contrasts with the tread, the flat part you step on.
Patterns
- the riser of a step
The carpenter painted each riser white and left the treads wooden.
Building codes limit how high a riser may be.
A loose riser creaked every time someone climbed the stairs.
nouncountable
A person who gets out of bed at a stated time, early or late.
Grammar: Almost always with early or late.
Patterns
- an early riser
- a late riser
My grandfather is an early riser and is up before dawn.
As a late riser, she avoids morning meetings.
Early risers can catch the best of the day.
nouncountable
A raised platform on which a choir, band or speakers stand so they can be seen.
Grammar: Often plural in a concert setting.
Patterns
- stand on a riser
The choir stood on risers behind the orchestra.
The drummer sat on a low riser at the back.
The speaker stepped up to the riser.
nouncountabletechnical
A vertical pipe that carries water, gas or other fluid between floors or up from the sea bed.
Grammar: Used in building and engineering.
Patterns
- a riser pipe
The plumber replaced a leaking riser in the basement.
A gas riser runs up the side of the building.
Engineers inspected the oil riser for cracks.
Word forms
| plural | risers |
|---|
Common combinations
- an early riser
- He is an early riser who runs before work.
- a late riser
- The students were late risers on the weekend.
- stair riser
- Each stair riser is seven inches high.
- choir risers
- The school bought new choir risers for concerts.
- a riser and tread
- The riser and tread of each step were cracked.
Synonyms and how they differ
- early bird
- Early bird is informal and humorous for someone who gets up or arrives early.
- platform
- Platform is a general raised surface, while riser suggests a low step-like stage.
- stage
- Stage is where performers act and can be much larger than a riser.
- standpipe
- Standpipe is a vertical pipe for supplying water, narrower than riser in the building sense.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: riser or raiser?
riser vs raiser
A raiser is someone who lifts or gathers something, as in a fundraiser; a riser is a person who rises or a vertical part of a stair.
Practice
The tread is the flat part of a stair; the vertical part beneath it is the ___.
Choose one answer.
The riser is the upright part between steps. A rung is a bar on a ladder, so it does not fit a staircase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “riser”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.