stage
n 1: any distinct time period in a sequence of events; "we are in
a transitional stage in which many former ideas must be
revised or rejected" [syn: {phase}]
2: a specific identifiable position in a continuum or series or
especially in a process; "a remarkable degree of
frankness"; "at what stage are the social sciences?" [syn:
{degree}, {level}, {point}]
3: a large platform on which people can stand and can be seen
by an audience; "he clambered up onto the stage and got
the actors to help him into the box"
4: (usually "the stage"); the theater as a profession; "an
early movie simply showed a long kiss by two actors of the
contemporary stage"
5: any scene regarded as a setting for exhibiting or doing
something; "All the world's a stage"--Shakespeare; "it set
the stage for peaceful negotiations"
6: a large coach-and-four formerly used to carry passengers and
mail on regular routes between towns; "we went out of town
together by stage about ten or twelve miles" [syn: {stagecoach}]
7: a section or portion of a journey or course; "then we
embarked on the second stage of our Carribean cruise"
[syn: {leg}]
8: a small platform on a microscope where the specimen is
mounted for examination [syn: {microscope stage}]
v 1: perform (a play), esp. on a stage; "we are going to stage
"Othello" [syn: {present}]
2: plan, organize, and carry out (an event) [syn: {bring about},
{arrange}]