noun

1. a platform or dock
2. a scaffold for workmen
3. a level, floor, or story
4. 1. a platform on which plays, speeches, etc. are presented
   2. any area, as in an arena theater, in which actors perform
   3. the whole working section of a theater, including the acting area, the backstage area, etc.
   4. the theater, drama, or acting as a profession: with the
5. 1. the scene of an event or series of events
   2. the center of attention
6. a place where a stop is made on a journey, esp., formerly, a regular stopping point for a stagecoach
7. the distance or a part of a route between two stopping places; leg of a journey
8. stagecoach
9. a shelf attached to a microscope for holding the object to be viewed
10. a period, level, or degree in a process of development, growth, or change the larval stage of an insect
11. any of two or more propulsion units used, in sequence, as the launch vehicle of a missile, spacecraft, etc.: when no longer operational or useful, the lower stages usually separate and fall back to earth
12. Electronics a component, circuit, etc. that does one specific job, as amplification, while being a part of a larger, more complex system
13. Geol. a subdivision of a series of stratified rocks consisting of the rocks laid down during a geologic age

Etymology: ME < OFr estage < VL *staticum < L status, pp. of stare, to stand

transitive verb staged, staging stag′·ing

1. to present, represent, or exhibit on or as on a stage
2. ☆ to plan, arrange, and carry out to stage a counteroffensive

intransitive verb