STAGE

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does stage mean? 

• STAGE (noun)
  The noun STAGE has 8 senses:

1. any distinct time period in a sequence of events

2. a specific identifiable position in a continuum or series or especially in a process

3. a large platform on which people can stand and can be seen by an audience

4. the theater as a profession (usually 'the stage')

5. a large coach-and-four formerly used to carry passengers and mail on regular routes between towns

6. a section or portion of a journey or course

7. any scene regarded as a setting for exhibiting or doing something

8. a small platform on a microscope where the specimen is mounted for examination

  Familiarity information: STAGE used as a noun is common.

• STAGE (verb)
  The verb STAGE has 2 senses:

1. perform (a play), especially on a stage

2. plan, organize, and carry out (an event)

  Familiarity information: STAGE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• STAGE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any distinct time period in a sequence of events

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Synonyms:

phase; stage

Context example:

we are in a transitional stage in which many former ideas must be revised or rejected

Hypernyms ("stage" is a kind of...):

period; period of time; time period (an amount of time)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "stage"):

pachytene (the third stage of the prophase of meiosis)

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

seedtime (any time of new development)

apogee; culmination (a final climactic stage)

generation (a stage of technological development or innovation)

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)

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)

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))

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))

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)

chapter (any distinct period in history or in a person's life)

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)

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)

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)

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

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

zygotene (the second stage of the prophase of meiosis)

phase of cell division (a stage in meiosis or mitosis)

leptotene (the first stage of the prophase of meiosis)

diplotene (the fourth stage of the prophase of meiosis)

diakinesis (the final stage of the prophase of meiosis)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A specific identifiable position in a continuum or series or especially in a process

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

degree; level; point; stage

Context example:

at what stage are the social sciences?

Hypernyms ("stage" is a kind of...):

state (the way something is with respect to its main attributes)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "stage"):

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

climax (the most severe stage of a disease)

quickening (the stage of pregnancy at which the mother first feels the movements of the fetus)

ultimacy; ultimateness (the state or degree of being ultimate; the final or most extreme in degree or size or time or distance)

plane (a level of existence or development)

living standards; standard of life; standard of living (a level of material comfort in terms of goods and services available to someone or some group)

end point; resultant (the final point in a process)

extent (the point or degree to which something extends)

acme; elevation; height; meridian; peak; pinnacle; summit; superlative; tiptop; top (the highest level or degree attainable; the highest stage of development)

ladder (ascending stages by which somebody or something can progress)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A large platform on which people can stand and can be seen by an audience

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Context example:

he clambered up onto the stage and got the actors to help him into the box

Hypernyms ("stage" is a kind of...):

platform (a raised horizontal surface)

Meronyms (parts of "stage"):

right stage; stage right (the part of the stage on the actor's right as the actor faces the audience)

left stage; stage left (the part of the stage on the actor's left as the actor faces the audience)

upstage (the rear part of the stage)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "stage"):

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)

Holonyms ("stage" is a part of...):

house; theater; theatre (a building where theatrical performances or motion-picture shows can be presented)

Derivation:

stage (perform (a play), especially on a stage)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The theater as a profession (usually 'the stage')

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

an early movie simply showed a long kiss by two actors of the contemporary stage

Hypernyms ("stage" is a kind of...):

dramatic art; dramatics; dramaturgy; theater; theatre (the art of writing and producing plays)

Derivation:

stage (perform (a play), especially on a stage)

stagey; stagy (having characteristics of the stage especially an artificial and mannered quality)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A large coach-and-four formerly used to carry passengers and mail on regular routes between towns

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

stage; stagecoach

Context example:

we went out of town together by stage about ten or twelve miles

Hypernyms ("stage" is a kind of...):

coach; coach-and-four; four-in-hand (a carriage pulled by four horses with one driver)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A section or portion of a journey or course

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

leg; stage

Context example:

then we embarked on the second stage of our Caribbean cruise

Hypernyms ("stage" is a kind of...):

travel; traveling; travelling (the act of going from one place to another)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "stage"):

fare-stage (a section along the route of a bus for which the fare is the same)

Holonyms ("stage" is a part of...):

journey; journeying (the act of traveling from one place to another)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Any scene regarded as a setting for exhibiting or doing something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Context example:

it set the stage for peaceful negotiations

Hypernyms ("stage" is a kind of...):

scene (the place where some action occurs)

Derivation:

stage (plan, organize, and carry out (an event))

Sense 8

Meaning:

A small platform on a microscope where the specimen is mounted for examination

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

microscope stage; stage

Hypernyms ("stage" is a kind of...):

platform (a raised horizontal surface)

• STAGE (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Perform (a play), especially on a stage

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Synonyms:

present; represent; stage

Context example:

we are going to stage 'Othello'

Hypernyms (to "stage" is one way to...):

re-create (create anew)

Domain category:

performing arts (arts or skills that require public performance)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "stage"):

localise; localize; place; set (locate)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

Did he stage his major works over a short period of time?

Derivation:

stage (a large platform on which people can stand and can be seen by an audience)

stage (the theater as a profession (usually 'the stage'))

stager (someone who supervises the physical aspects in the production of a show and who is in charge of the stage when the show is being performed)

staging (the production of a drama on the stage)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Plan, organize, and carry out (an event)

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Synonyms:

arrange; stage

Context example:

the neighboring tribe staged an invasion

Hypernyms (to "stage" is one way to...):

initiate; pioneer (take the lead or initiative in; participate in the development of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "stage"):

dogfight (arrange for an illegal dogfight)

tee up (make detailed arrangements or preparations)

phase (arrange in phases or stages)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

stage (any scene regarded as a setting for exhibiting or doing something)

stager (someone who supervises the physical aspects in the production of a show and who is in charge of the stage when the show is being performed)

 Context examples 

He had gone past that stage.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The stage is set—all you need to do is appear.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

The coach, therefore, took them the first stage of their journey, and brought its master back to Longbourn.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

Off ’e jumps from the stage an’ down the passage as ’ard as ’is ’oofs would carry ’im.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It appeared that within a very few minutes of our leaving, an English lady had arrived who was in the last stage of consumption.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“Now, Twenty Seven,” said Mr. Creakle, entering on a clear stage with his man, “is there anything that anyone can do for you? If so, mention it.”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

The hypnotic stage was even longer in coming than before; and when it came the time remaining until full sunrise was so short that we began to despair.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

But there was no great difficulty in the first stage of my adventure.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Of course, with a warrant we could demand to see the counterfoils, but we have not reached that stage yet.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The discovery is an important step in better understanding the early-life stages of this commercially valuable fish, the authors said.

(North Atlantic haddock use magnetic compass to guide them, National Science Foundation)