# stage

Pronunciation: say "STAYJ" /steɪd͡ʒ/

## Noun

1. A distinct period or step within a larger process of development or change.
   - Simple: A point or step in how something grows or changes over time.
   - _The disease was caught at an early stage, before symptoms appeared._
   - _Each stage of the negotiation brought the two sides closer together._
2. A raised platform on which plays, concerts, or other public performances are presented to an audience.
   - Simple: A raised floor where actors, singers, or speakers perform in front of an audience.
   - _The actors took their places on the stage as the lights dimmed._
   - _A grand piano sat at the center of the stage._
3. The profession or art of acting, especially in the theater.
   - Simple: The job or art of acting in plays for an audience.
   - _After college she devoted her life to the stage._
   - _Many film actors began their careers on the stage._
6. A setting where something is shown to the public or where a notable event takes place.
   - Simple: A place where something is shown to the public or an important event happens.
   - _The courtroom became the stage for a dramatic confrontation._
   - _The conference offered a stage for new ideas to reach a wide public._
7. A portion of a journey; one of the sections a road or route is divided into, or the distance between two resting places.
   - Simple: One part of a journey between two rest stops.
   - _The travelers covered three stages before stopping for the night._
   - _Each stage of the route was measured carefully on the map._
8. One of the sections of a device such as a rocket or warhead, each used or activated in sequence, one after another.
   - Simple: One part of a rocket or missile that fires in turn and then drops away.
   - _The rocket's second stage ignited moments after separation._
   - _Each stage carries its own fuel and engines._
9. A distinct level or section of a video game, one of the areas a player works through.
   - Simple: One of the separate parts or levels that make up a video game.
   - _The final stage of the game takes place inside a volcano._
   - _Players unlock a new stage after collecting enough coins._
14. A horse-drawn coach used to carry passengers along a fixed route; also the travel service or the company providing it.
   - Simple: A horse-drawn coach that carried passengers along a set route.
   - _Passengers boarded the morning stage bound for the capital._
   - _The stage changed horses at every inn along the route._
15. The flat platform on a microscope where a slide is placed and held for viewing.
   - Simple: The flat part of a microscope that holds the slide you look at.
   - _He clipped the slide to the stage and adjusted the focus knob._
   - _A mechanical stage lets you move the specimen smoothly in two directions._
17. A raised floor or platform built to support workers during mechanical or construction work; a piece of scaffolding.
   - Simple: A raised platform that workers stand on to reach high places.
   - _The crew lowered the suspended stage another floor and kept sealing the windows._
   - _Each morning the riggers checked the cables on the swing stage before anyone climbed aboard._
18. A platform where boats can load or unload, often built to float.
   - Simple: A platform, sometimes floating, used like a small dock by the water.
   - _A small stage projected into the harbor where the ferry could load passengers._
   - _Because the stage floats, its ramp stays level with the ferry's deck whether the tide is high or low._

## Verb

4. To organize and carry out an event, often a public or coordinated one.
   - Simple: To plan and carry out an event or activity.
   - _Organizers plan to stage a festival in the city park._
   - _The union staged a walkout to demand better pay._
5. To produce and present a play or other performance for an audience.
   - Simple: To put on a play or show for people to watch.
   - _The company plans to stage Hamlet next season._
   - _A local troupe staged the comedy to great acclaim._
10. To set up an event to look real or spontaneous when it is actually planned to deceive.
   - Simple: To fake an event so it looks real to other people.
   - _The thieves stage a robbery to draw attention from their real target._
   - _The whole argument was staged for the cameras._
12. To position something in advance so that it is ready for use when needed.
   - Simple: To put something in place so it is ready to be used.
   - _Crews stage supplies along the route before the race._
   - _The team staged the tools in the order they would be needed._
13. To determine how far a disease or similar condition has progressed by assigning it to a stage.
   - Simple: To find out how far a disease or other health problem has gone.
   - _Oncologists stage the disease using scans and biopsies._
   - _Nurses stage each pressure ulcer on admission and record its size and location._
16. To release a spent section of a multistage rocket and ignite the engines of the section above it.
   - Simple: To drop off an empty rocket part and start the engines of the next part.
   - _The launch vehicle is designed to stage at high altitude._
   - _Minutes after liftoff, the rocket staged, shedding its spent booster and firing the second-stage engine._
11. To fit out a home that is on the market with furniture and decor, making it more attractive to prospective buyers.
   - Simple: To fill a home that is for sale with nice furniture and things so buyers like it more.
   - _Our realtor advised us to stage the kitchen and living room before the first open house._
   - _The condo had been professionally staged, so every room looked like a page from a catalog._

## Noun

19. A resting place on a well-traveled road; a station or way station where fresh horses were kept for relay. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A place along an old road where travelers stopped to rest or change horses.
   - _The mail coach pulled into the next stage, where a fresh team of horses stood waiting in the yard._
   - _Each stage along the post road kept a stable of fresh horses ready._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A discrete block or section of an electronic circuit, such as a filter or an amplifier.
- (noun) A rock-layer sequence representing the deposits of one age on the geologic time scale.
- (noun) A placement or spell of work as an intern, often unpaid, especially a cook's time in another restaurant's kitchen learning its techniques.
- (verb) To work as an intern, often unpaid, especially in a restaurant kitchen to gain experience.
- (noun) The imagined space in which stereo sounds are placed, setting where each one seems to come from during playback.
- (noun) One of the separate levels inside a house.

## Origin

The Old French verb ester ('to be standing, be located') gave the noun estage ('dwelling, residence; position, situation, condition'), which Middle English took over as stage. Old English stede ('place, station') is a relative, and étage is a doublet.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/stage (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).