ˈfairy tale (also ˈfairy ˌstory) noun [countable]

1. a children’s story in which magical things happen

2. a story that someone has invented and is difficult to believe

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

floor one of the levels in a building:
She lives in an apartment on the eighteenth floor.
storey British English, story American English used when saying how many levels a building has:
a five-storey car park
The school is a single storey building.
the ground floor (also the first floor American English) the floor of a building that is at ground level:
There is a shop on the ground floor.
The emergency room is on the first floor.
the first floor British English, the second floor American English the floor of a building above the one at ground level:
She lives on the first floor.
deck one of the levels on a ship, bus, or plane:
The Horizon Lounge is on the top deck of the ship.
a true story
‘Schindler’s List’ tells the true story of Oskar Schindler.
a classic story (=old and admired by many people, or typical and good )
a classic story about a little girl who falls down a rabbit hole
a short story
He has published two collections of short stories.
a children’s story
Enid Blyton is famous for writing children’s stories.
a love story
‘Romeo and Juliet’ is a classic love story.
a fairy story (=a children's story in which magical things happen)
She looked like a princess in a fairy story.
an adventure story
an exciting adventure story for children
a detective story
Most detective stories are about a murder.
a ghost/horror story
They sat round the fire telling ghost stories.
She likes reading horror stories.
a bedtime story (=one that you read to a child before they go to sleep)
He remembered his mother reading him a bedtime story.
tell (somebody) a story
Would you like me to tell you a story?
read (somebody) a story
She read a lot of detective stories.
write a story
The story was written by Lewis Carroll.
a big story (=a report about something important)
He had promised the newspaper a big story on a major celebrity.
the lead/top story (=the most important story in a newspaper or news programme)
The floods were the lead story on the news that evening.
a front-page story
The Times published a front-page story about the scandal.
a cover story (=the main story in a magazine, mentioned on the cover)
Hello magazine did a cover story on her last year.
do a story (=write and then print or broadcast it)
I went to Iraq to do a story on the war.
print/publish a story
The News of the World decided not to print the story.
run a story (=print it or broadcast it)
There wasn't enough definite information to run the story.
cover a story (=report on it)
Her family complained about the way that journalists had covered the story.
break a story (=report on it for the first time)
The Daily Mail was the paper which broke the story.
leak a story (=secretly tell a reporter about it)
We may never know who leaked the story to the press.
a story breaks (=it is reported for the first time)
I still remember the shock when that story broke.
story a description of how something happened that is intended to entertain people, and may be true or imaginary:
a ghost story
a love story
It’s a story about a man who loses his memory.
a book of short stories
tale a story about strange imaginary events, or exciting events that happened in the past:
a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen
I loved hearing tales of his travels.
myth noun [uncountable and countable] a very old imaginary story about gods and magical creatures:
an ancient myth
Greek and Roman myths
legend noun [uncountable and countable] an old story about brave people or magical events that are probably not true:
popular legends of the creation of the world
According to legend, King Arthur was buried there.
fable a traditional imaginary short story that teaches a moral lesson, especially a story about animals:
the fable of the tortoise and the hare
a Chinese fable
epic a story told in a long book, film, or poem which is about great or exciting events, especially in history:
an epic about 13th-century Scottish hero William Wallace
saga a story about a series of events that take place over a long period of time, especially events involving one family:
a family saga beginning in the 1880s
yarn informal a long exciting story that is not completely true:
The movie’s a rattling good yarn and full of action.
give (somebody) a story
I had the feeling that she wasn't giving me the full story.
hear a story (also listen to a story)
I’ve heard that story a hundred times.
make up/invent a story
She confessed to making up the story of being abducted.
stick to your story (=keep saying it is true)
He didn’t believe her at first, but she stuck to her story.
change your story
During police interviews, Harper changed his story several times.
believe a story
The jury did not believe Evans's story.
swap stories (=tell each other stories)
They swapped stories and shared their experiences.
the story goes (=this is what is people say happened)
The story goes that he was drowned off the south coast, but not everyone believed it.
a story goes around (=people tell it to each other)
A story went around that she had been having an affair.
the full/whole story
I did not know the full story.
a plausible/convincing story
She tried to think up a convincing story to tell her parents.
a remarkable story
The film tells the remarkable story of their escape from a prison camp.
an apocryphal story (=one that is well-known but probably not true)
There are many apocryphal stories about him.
the inside story (=including facts that are known only to people involved)
Though I’d seen the official report, I wanted the inside story.
sb’s side of the story (=someone’s account of what happened, which may be different from someone else’s)
I would like to give my side of the story.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲