upstage

English

WOTD – 13 November 2006

Etymology

up- +‎ stage

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪdʒ

Noun

upstage (uncountable)

1. (theater) The part of a stage that is farthest from the audience or camera.

Coordinate terms

• (part of stage): center stage, downstage, stage left, stage right

Adverb

upstage (comparative more upstage, superlative most upstage)

1. toward or at the rear of a theatrical stage.

   The actor turned and walked upstage.

2. away from a motion-picture or television camera.

Adjective

upstage (comparative more upstage, superlative most upstage)

1. At the rear of a stage.

   The minimalist play used no upstage scenery.

Verb

1. (transitive) To draw attention away from others, especially on-stage.

   She only wore that dress to upstage everyone.

2. (transitive) To force other actors to face away from the audience by staying upstage.
3. (transitive) To treat snobbishly.
4. (medicine, transitive) To restage (cancer) to a higher stage than that found at last assessment (compare downstage).

Translations

to draw attention away from others

• German: die Schau stehlen, in den Schatten stellen (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Spanish: eclipsar (es), hacer sombra, opacar (es), ensombrecer (es)

to force other actors to face away from the audience by staying upstage

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

to treat snobbishly

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

See also

• Rake (theatre) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia