stage

stage1 [ steıdʒ ] noun ***

1. ) count the part of a theater where the actors or musicians perform:

take/leave the stage (=come onto/go off the stage): The musicians didn't take the stage until after ten o'clock.

on stage: They had now been on stage for over four hours.

a ) singular the theater, rather than movies, books, or other forms of art:

She's written a number of things for the stage.

b ) the stage life as a performer, especially the profession of acting:

go on the stage (=become a professional performer): Do you think your children will go on the stage?

c ) only before noun relating to acting or theaters:

a stage play (=performed in a theater, not on television or radio): He's written a new stage play.

2. ) count a particular part of a process that has several different parts:

She likes to involve herself in every stage of the movie-making process.

The project is still at a planning stage.

Atkins outlined a three-stage program for resolving the crisis.

a ) a particular point in time during a process or set of events:

The negotiations had reached a delicate stage.

at this stage: There's no point arguing about it at this stage.

an early/initial stage: They played very well in the early stages of the game.

a final/closing stage: The issue was only raised in the closing stage of the election campaign.

b ) a part of a trip that has several different parts:

The last stage of the trip was the train north.

3. ) singular the place or situation in which something happens, especially in politics:

the world/political/international stage: He is a skilled performer on the political stage.

She's not yet a politician of significance on the world stage.

4. ) count INFORMAL a STAGECOACH

stage

stage 2 [ steıdʒ ] verb transitive

1. ) to organize an event:

The protest was a well-planned and carefully staged affair.

You cannot stage a Verdi opera without a chorus.

2. ) to be the place where an event happens:

the city that so successfully staged the 2000 Olympics