1
: a division of a poem consisting of a series of lines arranged together in a usually recurring pattern of meter and rhyme : strophe
2
sports
: a period (such as a half or an inning) into which the duration of a game is divided
The game's prime moment wasn't the decisive and popular eighth-inning, two-run homer by Mark Bellhorn … but a sensational play by Boston's Manny Ramirez in the top of that same stanza.—
Roger Angell
Roger AngellExamples of stanza in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
That allowed Pimblett to use his speed and size to light up Chandler on the feet, including timing and landing a knee at the start of the third stanza, opening an enormous gash under Chandler's left eye.
—Trent Reinsmith, Forbes.com, 13 Apr. 2025
Davis spent so much of the opening period standing on his head that, 11 seconds into the second stanza, his mask came off.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 10 Apr. 2025
The static figures act like a metronome, marking time between the stanzas of his sharp-witted soliloquies and dialogues; the gestures and expressions function as stage directions.
—Art Spiegelman, The Atlantic, 9 Apr. 2025
The last word of each line in the first stanza of a sestina is also used to end the lines in each subsequent stanza, except the order of those end words differs for each stanza.
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 14 Mar. 2025
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Trent Reinsmith, Forbes.com, 13 Apr. 2025
Davis spent so much of the opening period standing on his head that, 11 seconds into the second stanza, his mask came off.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 10 Apr. 2025
The static figures act like a metronome, marking time between the stanzas of his sharp-witted soliloquies and dialogues; the gestures and expressions function as stage directions.
—Art Spiegelman, The Atlantic, 9 Apr. 2025
The last word of each line in the first stanza of a sestina is also used to end the lines in each subsequent stanza, except the order of those end words differs for each stanza.
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stanza
Cite this Entry
“Stanza.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stanza. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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stanza
noun
stan·za
ˈstan-zə 
: a division of a poem consisting of a series of lines arranged together in a usually repeating pattern of rhythm and rhyme
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