stationery

noun

sta·tio·nery ˈstā-shə-ˌner-ē

: materials (such as paper, pens, and ink) for writing or typing

: letter paper usually accompanied with matching envelopes

Did you know?

stationary or stationery?

The Internet is awash with mnemonics (“something (such as a word, a sentence, or a song) that helps people remember something“) designed to assist those who have trouble distinguishing between two similar words. A fair share of these turn out to be for the words stationery and stationary. The most commonly suggested method is to remember that you buy papER at a stationERy store. If this trick does not work for you, then perhaps it will help to remember that a stationery store is one that is run by a stationer. This word was originally applied to a bookseller, but by the middle of the 17th century it began to be used for a person who sells papers, pens, and office goods.

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web The publication shared photos of the room on Instagram, detailing how its pink flamingo wallpaper is covered with sticky notes and stationery. —

Kelly Allen, House Beautiful, 6 June 2023 Almost all of the lyrics are written on stationery from a defunct British airline, British Midland, and some of the pages are festooned with Mercury’s abstract doodles. —

Alex Marshall, New York Times, 31 May 2023 The words were written on pages of stationery from the defunct British airline, British Midland, The New York Times reported. —

Justin Ray, Robb Report, 31 May 2023 Fitzsimmons apparently believed that the admissions officer whose name was on the Harvard stationery had actually authored the memo. —

Jeannie Suk Gersen, The New Yorker, 23 Mar. 2023 Dollar stores have inexpensive stationery, cards and stickers. —

Annie Lane, oregonlive, 11 Apr. 2023 For those skipping the traditional route, the modern equivalents are stationery and desk sets. —

Christina Montoya Fiedler, Good Housekeeping, 27 Mar. 2023 Moleskine is already a trusted name among writers and stationery enthusiasts who prefer to sketch or jot their ideas onto paper. —

Danielle Directo-Meston, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 May 2022 At the accessible luxury level, Smythson is providing stationery for guests to write letters of congratulations to King Charles at its New Bond Street store. —

Pamela N. Danziger, Forbes, 4 May 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stationery.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.