paper cut to an appropriate size for writing letters; usually with matching envelopes
"She bought a box of stationery that included letter-sized sheets and coordinating envelopes for her correspondence."
writing materials, envelopes, office materials
"She bought fresh stationery to organize her new correspondence address."
In plain English: Stationery is paper and writing supplies you use to send letters or make notes by hand.
"I bought some new stationery to keep in my desk drawer for writing letters."
Usage: Use stationery to refer specifically to paper goods like pens and envelopes needed for correspondence or official documents. Do not confuse this with stationary, which describes something that is fixed in one place and does not move.
Misspelling of stationary.
"Please don't write that sentence on stationery when you meant to use a word describing something that isn't moving."
In plain English: Stationery is an adjective describing something that stays still and does not move, such as a train station where trains stop to pick up passengers.
"The stationery office has moved to a new building downtown."
The word stationery comes from the noun stationer, referring to a person who sold writing materials and paper goods. The suffix -y was added to form this term for items associated with such merchants.