Noun
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"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?"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. the theater as a profession (usually `the stage');
"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"7. a section or portion of a journey or course;
"then we embarked on the second stage of our Caribbean cruise"8. a small platform on a microscope where the specimen is mounted for examination