Stairs can be mysterious, tricky, and puzzling. They often inspire riddles that challenge the mind. Here are 51 riddles about stairs to entertain and confuse you.
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Let’s start with a quick riddle about stairs:
Riddle 1
Q: What has steps but doesn’t move?
A: A staircase!
This simple riddle hints at the puzzling nature of stairs. They have steps we walk up and down, yet the staircase itself doesn’t go anywhere. Stairs are a pathway, not a destination.
Now let’s look at some more intriguing riddles about these architectural features found in many homes and buildings.
Number Riddles
Riddles involving numbers and counting steps can really make you think.
Riddle 2
Q: If you were running up a flight of stairs and you passed five steps, how many steps would you have left?
A: All of them! You haven’t removed any steps just by passing them.
Riddle 3
Q: How many steps are there in a one story house?
A: Typically between 10 and 20 steps.
Riddle 4
Q: How many steps does it take to reach the top of a 20 story building?
A: It depends on the height of each story/floor and the number of steps per flight. But likely over 500 steps in total.
Riddle 5
Q: If an apartment building has 12 floors and 20 steps per floor, how many total steps are there?
A: 12 floors x 20 steps per floor = 240 total steps
Riddle 6
Q: How many steps would you climb walking up to the 8th floor of a building with 15 steps per floor?
A: 8 floors x 15 steps per floor = 120 steps
Riddle 7
Q: If a building has 16 floors with 12 steps each and you climb all the way up and back down, how many total steps will you take?
A: Up the stairs = 16 floors x 12 steps per floor = 192 steps. Down the stairs = 192 steps. So total steps walked = 192 + 192 = 384 steps
Logic Riddles
Now let’s look at some logic riddles about stairs that involve critical thinking.
Riddle 8
Q: If you drop a ball down a flight of stairs, it will bounce on each step. If the ball bounces halfway back up after each bounce, on which step will it come to rest?
A: The ball won’t come to rest, it will bounce forever back and forth between the same 2 steps, rebounding halfway each time.
Riddle 9
Q: If a building has 54 floors, and a person walks up 3 flights of stairs before taking the elevator to the top floor, on which floor will the elevator stop?
A: 15th floor. Each flight is about 10-20 steps so they walked up about 3 stories before taking the elevator.
Riddle 10
Q: If a building has 25 floors and a bird is sitting on the top step of the 14th floor, how many steps is the bird from the bottom step?
A: 14 floors x (approx 15 steps per floor) = 210 steps from the bottom
Riddle 11
Q: Tom is standing on step 21 of a staircase that has 100 steps. If each step is 5 inches high, how far has Tom climbed in inches?
A: Step 21 = Tom has climbed 20 steps.
20 steps x 5 inches (height of each step) = 100 inches
Riddle 12
Q: How many total steps are there if a staircase has 10 steps with a small landing and then 5 more steps?
A: 10 + 5 = 15 total steps
Riddle 13
Q: A building has 100 floors. If 10 people walk up 2 flights of stairs, how many total floors did they climb?
A: 10 people x 2 flights each x about 10-20 steps per flight = 200-400 steps. With 100 floors, that would be about 2-4 floors climbed total.
What Am I Riddles
“What am I?” riddles about stairs provide fun clues to identify the object being described.
Riddle 14
Q: What has a top and a bottom and steps in between, but doesn’t move at all? What am I?
A: You’re a staircase!
Riddle 15
Q: I lead up or down, I’m steep or flat. I’m often carpeted, sometimes not. You step on me, what am I?
A: You’re stairs!
Riddle 16
Q: People step on me all day long, going up and going down. I take them to their destination, but I never leave this town. What am I?
A: You’re a set of stairs!
Riddle 17
Q: Buildings use me to connect their floors. I’m steep, winding, or straight – all sorts of forms. People climb and descend me multiple times a day. What am I?
A: You’re a staircase!
Riddle 18
Q: I’m sometimes spiral, others straight. I’m used both indoors and outside. People pass over me every day. What am I?
A: A staircase!
Rhyming Riddles
Rhyming riddles add a playful element to puzzles about stairs.
Riddle 19
Q: Going up and down, up and down, I never make a single sound. What am I?
A: Stairs!
Riddle 20
Q: Step by step, Higher you get. Up up up, Don’t fall down. What am I?
A: Stairs!
Riddle 21
Q: Round and round, Higher off the ground. Step after step, No end in sight. What am I?
A: A spiral staircase
Riddle 22
Q: Step 1, step 2, step 3, step 4, Step 5 and more, Right to the door. What am I?
A: Stairs!
Riddle 23
Q: Up and up without a stop, the more you climb the more you hop. What am I?
A: Stairs!
Classic Riddles
Here are some classic riddles about stairs that have stood the test of time:
Riddle 24
Q: A man builds a house with 4 sides, each side having a southern exposure. A big bear comes wandering by. What color is the bear?
A: White! The house must be built at the North Pole where all bears are polar bears.
Riddle 25
Q: What occurs once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in one thousand years?
A: The letter M – it occurs once in “minute” and twice in “moment” but not at all in “thousand years”.
Riddle 26
Q: The more steps there are, the lower it becomes. What is it?
A: A staircase! The more steps you add, the lower it extends.
Riddle 27
Q: If you have it you want to share it. If you share it you don’t have it. What is it?
A: A secret!
Riddle 28
Q: People buy me to walk on, but never use me for my intended purpose. What am I?
A: Carpet or rugs that are used on stairs but not walked on directly.
Tricky Riddles
See if you can figure out the answers to these tricky riddles about stairs!
Riddle 29
Q: The more you have of me, the less you see. What am I?
A: Darkness, shadows, or a staircase with multiple landings blocking the view.
Riddle 30
Q: What 5-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?
A: Short – add two letters and it becomes shorter.
Riddle 31
Q: Until I am measured, I am not known. Yet how you miss me, when I have flown. What am I?
A: Time. You have to measure time to know how much has passed, and time flies by quickly.
Riddle 32
Q: The more steps there are, the harder it becomes to reach the top. What is it?
A: A pyramid. The more layers/steps are built, the higher the top becomes.
Riddle 33
Q: I have keys but no locks, space but no room, and you can enter but not go in. What am I?
A: A keyboard!
Silly Stair Riddles
These silly riddles add humor to the theme of stairs.
Riddle 34
Q: Why did the stairs have to go to the dentist?
A: They had chipped steps!
Riddle 35
Q: Why was the staircase angry?
A: People were always walking all over it!
Riddle 36
Q: Why do stairs have to be so polite?
A: Because they’re always being stepped on!
Riddle 37
Q: Why do some staircases have to wear glasses?
A: Because they have steps!
Riddle 38
Q: Why did the kid slide down the stairs on his belly?
A: Because it was faster than taking the steps!
Hard Stair Riddles
Step up your game with these hard riddles about stairs!
Riddle 39
Q: The more you take away, the larger it becomes. What is it?
A: A hole or excavation – the more dirt you remove, the larger the hole.
Riddle 40
Q: What flames upward but never burns?
A: Staircase banisters or railings.
Riddle 41
Q: I’m tall when I’m young and short when I’m old. What am I?
A: A candle – the flame starts out tall but burns down shorter.
Riddle 42
Q: The more you take, the more you leave behind. What are they?
A: Footsteps going up stairs – each step you take leaves another step behind.
Riddle 43
Q: What goes up and down but doesn’t move?
A: Stairs or a staircase.
Funny Stair Riddles
Laugh your way up the stairs with these funny riddles.
Riddle 44
Q: Why was Cinderella bad at football?
A: Because she always ran away from the ball!
Riddle 45
Q: Why should you never tell secrets on a staircase?
A: Because there are always steps up and steps down!
Riddle 46
Q: Why couldn’t the sailor learn his numbers?
A: Because he was always at sea!
Riddle 47
Q: What did the policeman say to the stairs?
A: You’re under a rest!
Riddle 48
Q: Why do cows have hooves instead of feet?
A: Because they lactose!
Short Stair Riddles
These short riddles ask you to think quickly:
Riddle 49
Q: What building has the most stories?
A: The library!
Riddle 50
Q: What has four wheels and flies?
A: A garbage truck!
Riddle 51
Q: What starts with “e” and ends with “e” but only contains one letter?
A: An envelope!
Conclusion
So there you have it – 51 stair-themed riddles ranging from simple to complex. How many were you able to answer correctly? Riddles provide great mental exercise while entertaining all ages. You can expect lots of laughs, groans and “aha” moments when challenging your friends or family to these staircase stumpers. Outsmarting a tricky riddle provides a great sense of accomplishment. Test your wits, flex your brain and have fun taking these steps up the winding staircase of riddles!
