n.
- a point, period, or step in a process or development.
▸a section of a journey or race.
- a raised floor or platform on which actors, entertainers, or speakers perform.
▸
(the stage)
the acting or theatrical profession.
- a scene of action or forum of debate.
- a floor of a building.
- each of two or more sections of a rocket or spacecraft that are jettisoned in turn when their propellant is exhausted.
- Electronics a part of a circuit containing a single amplifying transistor or valve.
- a raised plate on a microscope on which a slide or specimen is placed for examination.
- Geology a range of strata corresponding to an age in time, forming a subdivision of a series.
- historical a stagecoach.
v.
- present a performance of (a play or other show).
▸organize and participate in (a public event).
▸cause (something dramatic or unexpected) to happen.
- Medicine assign (a disease or patient) to a stage in a process.
Phrase
- hold the stage
dominate a scene of action or forum of debate. - set the stage for
prepare the conditions for. - stage left
(or right)
on the left (or right) side of a stage from the point of view of a performer facing the audience.
Derivative
- stageability n.
- stageable adj.
Etymology
ME: shortening of OFr. estage ‘dwelling’, based on L. stare ‘to stand’.