stage

/steɪdʒ/

/steɪdʒ/

Other forms: stages; staged; staging

A stage is a certain phase, like the toddler stage, when kids learn to walk and talk. Another kind of stage is a platform for a performance, although according to Shakespeare, “All the world's a stage.”

There are stages of life, development, and grief — and stages of a rocket launch. Another kind of stage is the one that actors, singers, and puppet masters perform on. The profession of theater acting itself is in fact sometimes referred to as "the stage," and to put on a play is to stage it. A "stage whisper" is one between actors that's loud enough for the audience to hear, and a "stage name" is an actor's professional name.

Definitions of stage

1. noun

   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”

   synonyms: phase

   types:

   diakinesis

   the final stage of the prophase of meiosis

   diplotene

   the fourth stage of the prophase of meiosis

   leptotene

   the first stage of the prophase of meiosis

   pachytene

   the third stage of the prophase of meiosis

   phase of cell division

   a stage in meiosis or mitosis

   zygotene

   the second stage of the prophase of meiosis

   anal phase, anal stage

   (psychoanalysis) the second sexual and social stage of a child's development during which bowel control is learned

   genital phase, genital stage

   (psychoanalysis) the fifth sexual and social stage in a person's development occurring during adolescence; interest focuses on sexual activity

   latency period, latency phase, latency stage

   (psychoanalysis) the fourth period (from about age 5 or 6 until puberty) during which sexual interests are supposed to be sublimated into other activities

   oral phase, oral stage

   (psychoanalysis) the first sexual and social stage of an infant's development; the mouth is the focus of the libido and satisfaction comes from suckling and chewing and biting

   phallic phase, phallic stage

   (psychoanalysis) the third stage in a child's development when awareness of and manipulation of the genitals is supposed to be a primary source of pleasure

   chapter

   any distinct period in history or in a person's life

   incubation

   (pathology) the phase in the development of an infection between the time a pathogen enters the body and the time the first symptoms appear

   fertile period, fertile phase

   the time in the menstrual cycle when fertilization is most likely to be possible (7 days before to 7 days after ovulation)

   menstrual phase

   the phase of the menstrual cycle during which the lining of the uterus is shed (the first day of menstrual flow is considered day 1 of the menstrual cycle)

   musth

   an annual phase of heightened sexual excitement in the males of certain large mammals (especially elephants); is associated with discharge from a gland between the eye and ear

   luteal phase, secretory phase

   the second half of the menstrual cycle after ovulation; the corpus luteum secretes progesterone which prepares the endometrium for the implantation of an embryo; if fertilization does not occur then menstrual flow begins

   generation

   a stage of technological development or innovation

   apogee, culmination

   a final climactic stage

   seedtime

   any time of new development

   safe period

   that time during a woman's menstrual cycle during which conception is least likely to occur (usually immediately before of after menstruation)

   anaphase

   the stage of meiosis or mitosis when chromosomes move toward opposite ends of the nuclear spindle

   metaphase

   the second stage of mitosis

   metaphase

   the second stage of meiosis

   prophase

   the first stage of mitosis

   prophase

   the first stage of meiosis

   telophase

   the final stage of mitosis

   telophase

   the final stage of meiosis when the chromosomes move toward opposite ends of the nuclear spindle

   type of:

   period, period of time, time period

   an amount of time
2. noun

   a specific identifiable position in a continuum or series or especially in a process
   “at what stage are the social sciences?”

   synonyms: degree, level, point

   types:

   ladder

   ascending stages by which somebody or something can progress

   acme, elevation, height, meridian, peak, pinnacle, summit, superlative, tiptop, top, zenith

   the highest level or degree attainable; the highest stage of development

   extent

   the point or degree to which something extends

   end point, resultant

   the final point in a process

   standard of life, standard of living

   a level of material comfort in terms of goods and services available to someone or some group

   plane

   a level of existence or development

   state of the art

   the highest degree of development of an art or technique at a particular time

   ultimacy, ultimateness

   the state or degree of being ultimate; the final or most extreme in degree or size or time or distance, "the ultimacy of these social values"

   quickening

   the stage of pregnancy at which the mother first feels the movements of the fetus

   climax

   the most severe stage of a disease

   extremity

   the greatest or utmost degree

   profoundness

   extremeness of degree

   type of:

   state

   the way something is with respect to its main attributes
3. noun

   a section or portion of a journey or course
   “then we embarked on the second stage of our Caribbean cruise”

   synonyms: leg

   types:

   fare-stage

   a section along the route of a bus for which the fare is the same

   type of:

   travel, traveling, travelling

   the act of going from one place to another
4. noun

   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”

   types:

   downstage

   the front half of the stage (as seen from the audience)

   mise en scene, setting, stage setting

   arrangement of scenery and properties to represent the place where a play or movie is enacted

   apron, forestage, proscenium

   the part of a modern theater stage between the curtain and the orchestra (i.e., in front of the curtain)

   theater stage, theatre stage

   a stage in a theater on which actors can perform

   backstage, offstage, wing

   a stage area out of sight of the audience

   boards

   the stage of a theater

   thrust stage

   a theater stage that extends out into the audience's part of a theater and has seats on three sides

   type of:

   platform

   a raised horizontal surface
5. noun

   the theater as a profession (usually `the stage')
   “an early movie simply showed a long kiss by two actors of the contemporary stage”

   type of:

   dramatic art, dramatics, dramaturgy, theater, theatre

   the art of writing and producing plays
6. noun

   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”

   type of:

   scene

   the place where some action occurs
7. verb

   perform (a play), especially on a stage
   “we are going to stage `Othello'”

   synonyms: present, represent

   types:

   localise, localize, place, set

   locate

   type of:

   re-create

   create anew
8. verb

   plan, organize, and carry out (an event)
   “the neighboring tribe staged an invasion”

   synonyms: arrange

   types:

   dogfight

   arrange for an illegal dogfight

   tee up

   make detailed arrangements or preparations

   phase

   arrange in phases or stages

   type of:

   initiate, pioneer

   take the lead or initiative in; participate in the development of
9. noun

   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”

   synonyms: stagecoach

   type of:

   coach, coach-and-four, four-in-hand

   a carriage pulled by four horses with one driver
10. noun

    a small platform on a microscope where the specimen is mounted for examination
    synonyms: microscope stage

    type of:

    platform

    a raised horizontal surface