- stage
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 period/state in progress/developmentADJECTIVE▪ distinct▪
The process has three distinct stages.
▪ beginning, early, initial, opening, preliminary▪ advanced, closing, final, last, late, latter, terminal▪Her husband was in the advanced stages of cancer.
▪ halfway (esp. BrE), intermediate, secondary▪ first, second, etc.▪ transitional▪ successive▪ critical, crucial, formative, important, key, main▪a young entertainer at the formative stages of his career
▪ difficult▪ delicate, vulnerable▪ life▪the different life stages of insects and fish
▪ growth, reproductive▪ adult, embryonic, juvenile, larval, mature, pupal▪ experimental, exploratory, testing▪ committee (BrE, politics), design, development, developmental, formative, planning▪The project is still at the planning stage.
▪ knockout (esp. BrE)▪Colombia's win sent them through to the knockout stage of the tournament.
▪ quarter-final, semi-final, etc. (esp. BrE)VERB + STAGE▪ go through, move through, pass through▪The water goes through three stages of purification.
▪ enter, reach▪We've entered a crucial stage in the project.
▪ mark, represent▪This adaptation represented an important stage in human evolution.
PREPOSITION▪ at a/the stage▪You should read this article at some stage.
▪ by stages▪a process that by stages led to the Cold War
▪ during a/the stage, in a/the stage▪in the early stages of the job
▪ in stages▪We renovated the house in two stages.
▪ stage in▪an important stage in her life
▪ stage of▪the latter stages of the race
PHRASES▪ the beginning of a stage, the end of a stage▪Students are tested at the end of each stage of the course.
▪ a stage further, one stage further▪take the investigation one stage further
▪ a stage of development, a stage of life2 in a theatre/theater, etc.ADJECTIVE▪ centre/center (often figurative)▪A new actress will take centre/center stage in next month's production of ‘The Doll's House’.
▪He was always unwilling to take centre/center stage.
▪ main▪They played the main stage at Glastonbury.
▪ empty▪ revolving▪ makeshift▪A group of tables were converted into a makeshift stage.
▪ concert▪David Bowie returned to the concert stage last week.
▪ political (figurative)▪Gore has stepped back onto the political stage.
▪ global, international, national, world (all figurative)▪China is now a major player on the world stage.
VERB + STAGE▪ go on, hit (informal), step on, step onto, take, take to▪She was too nervous to go on stage.
▪I was shaking as I took the stage.
▪She took to the stage when she was at college.
▪ stand on▪ jump off, leave, step off▪She left the stage to tumultuous applause.
▪ jump on, jump onto▪A fan jumped up onto the stage.
▪ return to▪ share▪He once shared the stage with Frank Sinatra.
▪ grace▪She is one of the finest actors ever to grace the stage.
▪ set (often figurative)▪The thrilling semi-finals set the stage for what should be a great game.
▪ boo sb off▪She was booed off the stage.
STAGE + NOUN▪ musical, play, production, show, work▪Stravinsky's last stage work
▪ adaptation, version▪the stage version of ‘The Lion King’
▪ appearance, performance, role▪ presence▪It was hard to forget her powerful stage presence.
▪ persona▪His stage persona was that of a foolish drunk.
▪ name▪He adopted the stage name Dixon Hare when he became a full-time actor.
▪ career, debut▪She made her stage debut at the age of four.
▪I began my stage career at the age of ten.
▪ lighting, lights▪ set▪The stage set is the most expensive ever built.
▪ floor▪ door▪Fans hung around the stage door hoping to meet the band.
▪ actor, crew, director, manager, etc.▪ management▪ direction▪As the stage directions indicate, it is early morning in Moscow.
▪Shakespeare's famous stage direction: ‘Exit, pursued by a bear.’
▪ left, right▪ fright▪Even experienced actors can suffer from stage fright.
▪ whisper▪‘She's pregnant!’ he said in a stage whisper.
PHRASES▪ the back of the stage, the edge of the stage, the front of the stage, the side of the stage{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}verbADVERB▪ carefully▪The event was very carefully staged.
▪ elaborately▪an elaborately staged drama
PHRASES▪ well staged▪The action scenes are all well staged.
Stage is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ballet, ↑adaptation, ↑ambush, ↑comeback, ↑competition, ↑concert, ↑coup, ↑demonstration, ↑drama, ↑event, ↑exhibition, ↑final, ↑fixture, ↑march, ↑mutiny, ↑parade, ↑performance, ↑protest, ↑raid, ↑rally, ↑rebellion, ↑reconstruction, ↑recovery, ↑reunion, ↑revival, ↑revolt, ↑revolution, ↑scene, ↑stoppage, ↑strike, ↑stunt, ↑uprising, ↑version
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
