Definition of "upstage"

upstage

/ʌpˈsteɪd͡ʒ/

noun
uncountable
1. (theater) The part of a stage that is farthest from the audience or camera.
adverb
comparative more upstage, superlative most upstage
1. Toward or at the rear of a theatrical stage.
2. Away from the audience or camera.
adjective
comparative more upstage, superlative most upstage
1. At the rear of a stage.
2. (figurative, obsolete) Haughty, aloof.
  Quotations
  If she hasn't time for this or that, if she refuses to make or keep appointments, if her face does not greet all comers with a sweet and charming smile, then the word is passed around that ‘So-and-So is getting high-hat and up-stage.’
  1929 December, Betty Boone, “The Price of this Stardom”, in Screenland, page 22
verb
third-person singular simple present upstages, present participle upstaging, simple past and past participle upstaged
1. (figurative, transitive) To draw attention away from others, especially on-stage.
  Quotations
  Although constantly upstaged by Miss Moore's vocal flings, Cary Grant brought the appropriate note of light comedy to his role.
  1973, Jerry Vermilye, Cary Grant, New York: Galahad Books, page 56
  Ronald Reagan’s peace plan for Nicaragua, which would have worked to his domestic political advantage even if it had failed, is upstaged by a surprise initiative by five Central American countries.
  1987 August 17, “Peace Moves”, in Newsweek, volume 60, number 7, page 1
  The romance and spectacle of the Olympics have been upstaged by the reality of the Olympics; both the Summer Games and the Winter Games are now as much big business as they are sport.
  1996, Dave Anderson, The story of the Olympics, New York: W. Morrow, page 10
2. (transitive, theater) To force other actors to face away from the audience by staying upstage.
3. (transitive, by extension) To treat snobbishly.
4. (medicine, transitive) To restage upward; to restage (a case of a disease, usually a cancer) to a higher stage than that found at last assessment.
  Quotations
  Almost one-third of patients were upstaged after re-exploration, three-quarters of whom actually had stage III disease.
  1999, “Mismanagement of ovarian cancer by laparoscopy and laparotomy”, in Laparoscopic surgery in gynaecological oncology, Blackwell Science

Definition of "upstage"

upstage

noun

adverb

adjective

Quotations

verb

Quotations

Quotations