stage

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
stage/steɪʤ/

▶noun

• 1 a point, period, or step in a process or development.

  ■ a section of a journey or race.

• 2 a raised floor or platform on which actors, entertainers, or speakers perform.

  ■ (the stage) the acting or theatrical profession.

• 3 a scene of action or forum of debate.

• 4 a floor of a building.

• 5 each of two or more sections of a rocket or spacecraft that are jettisoned in turn when their propellant is exhausted.

• 6 Electronics a part of a circuit containing a single amplifying transistor or valve.

• 7 a raised plate on a microscope on which a slide or specimen is placed for examination.

• 8 Geology a range of strata corresponding to an age in time, forming a subdivision of a series.

• 9 historical a stagecoach.

▶verb

• 1 present a performance of (a play or other show).

  ■ organize and participate in (a public event).

  ■ cause (something dramatic or unexpected) to happen.

• 2 Medicine assign (a disease or patient) to a stage in a process.

– phrases
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.

– derivatives
stageability noun,
stageable adjective.

– origin ME: shortening of OFr. estage ‘dwelling’, based on L. stare ‘to stand’.