Stationary vs. Stationery
Stationary and stationery are two words that sound the same and are spelled nearly the same-with only one letter of difference between the two. While they have very different meanings, they are often confused because even the best user of the English language can get confused with such similar words. Let's take a moment to review these two words, their meanings, and a tip for how to ensure you use the correct spelling depending on the context of your thoughts.
Stationary is an adjective meaning not moving, fixed, or at rest.
1. When it is raining and he cannot go for a run, my dad rides a stationary bike that is in the basement at our house.
2. The large model of the solar system was stationary, but we were able to walk around it to see the different planets and their moons.
3. The chairs and tables in the party room are stationary, so please don't move them. But, you are welcome to decorate in any way that you wish.
Stationery is a noun that refers to writing paper, or note paper, with envelopes that is used to send correspondence through the mail.
1. For Christmas, I received a box of stationery with small dolphins printed at the top.
2. Many brides still order personalized stationery so that they can send hand-written thank you notes for gifts.
In today's technological world, you probably have less cause to use the word stationery, as the practice of sending hand-written correspondence has diminished over time. However, an easy way to remember that stationery is for correspondence is to remember that the paper comes with envelopes-stationery with an "e" is for envelopes.
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