Definition

1. Noun:

   • A raised platform in a theater, hall, or other venue where performers, speakers, or entertainers stand: A physical area designed to be seen by an audience.
   • The theater as a profession or the world of theatrical performance: Often used with "the" to refer to the acting profession or theatrical work in general.
   • A distinct period or phase in a process, development, or series of events: A point, level, or step in a progression.
   • A point or period in a journey or race: A specific section or leg of a route.
   • A small platform on a microscope: The flat plate where a specimen is placed for examination.
   • (Historical) A stagecoach: A large horse-drawn coach that carried passengers and mail on regular routes.

2. Verb:

   • To present a performance, especially a play, on a stage: To produce and perform a theatrical work.
   • To organize and carry out a public event or action, often for dramatic effect or to attract attention: To plan and execute an event, sometimes implying it is orchestrated for public view.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:

  • The actor walked confidently onto the stage. (Referring to the physical platform.)
  • She has dedicated her life to the stage. (Referring to the acting profession.)
  • The project is still in the planning stage. (Referring to a phase in a process.)
  • The tour includes a stage through the mountains. (Referring to a section of a journey.)
  • Place the slide on the microscope stage. (Referring to the platform on a microscope.)

• Verb:

  • The local drama club will stage 'Hamlet' next month. (Referring to performing a play.)
  • The protesters staged a sit-in at the city hall. (Referring to organizing a public event.)

Advanced Usage

• "to set the stage for (something)": To create the necessary conditions for something to happen; to prepare the way.
  • The treaty set the stage for lasting peace in the region.
• "to take center stage": To become the main focus of attention.
  • The issue of climate change has taken center stage in the debate.
• "stage fright": Nervousness felt by a performer before or during a public appearance. (Note: This is a compound noun listed here as an advanced usage example of the concept).
  • Even experienced actors sometimes suffer from stage fright.

Variants and Related Words

• Staging (n): The process or manner of presenting a play or other production; the scaffolding or temporary platform used in construction.
  • The staging of the opera was magnificent.
• Stagecoach (n): A historical term for a large, closed horse-drawn coach that ran on a regular route.
• Stagehand (n): A person who moves scenery or props and does other manual work in a theater production.

Synonyms

• Noun (Platform): Platform, dais, podium.
• Noun (Phase): Phase, step, point, period, level.
• Verb (Present): Present, perform, put on, mount.
• Verb (Organize): Organize, arrange, engineer, orchestrate.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Stage a comeback: To successfully return to a previous position of success or popularity after a period of absence or decline.
  • The singer staged a remarkable comeback after a decade away from music.

Related Idioms

• All the world's a stage: A famous phrase from Shakespeare meaning that life is like a play, and people are merely actors. (Often used to comment on the roles people play in life).
• To quit the stage: To retire from a profession, especially acting or public life; (figuratively) to die.
  • After forty years, the legendary actor decided to quit the stage.

Noun

1. a small platform on a microscope where the specimen is mounted for examination
2. any scene regarded as a setting for exhibiting or doing something
   • All the world's a stage--Shakespeare
   • it set the stage for peaceful negotiations
3. a section or portion of a journey or course
   • then we embarked on the second stage of our Caribbean cruise
4. a large coach-and-four formerly used to carry passengers and mail on regular routes between towns
   • we went out of town together by stage about ten or twelve miles
5. the theater as a profession (usually `the stage')
   • an early movie simply showed a long kiss by two actors of the contemporary stage
6. a large platform on which people can stand and can be seen by an audience
   • he clambered up onto the stage and got the actors to help him into the box
7. a specific identifiable position in a continuum or series or especially in a process
   • a remarkable degree of frankness
   • at what stage are the social sciences?
8. any distinct time period in a sequence of events
   • we are in a transitional stage in which many former ideas must be revised or rejected

Verb

1. plan, organize, and carry out (an event)
   • the neighboring tribe staged an invasion
2. perform (a play), especially on a stage
   • we are going to stage `Othello'