staging

noun

stag·​ing ˈstā-jiŋ 

1

: scaffolding

2

a

: the business of running stagecoaches

b

: the act of journeying in stagecoaches

3

: the act of putting on a play

4

a

: the moving of troops or matériel forward in several stages

b

: the assembling of troops or matériel in transit in a particular place

Examples of staging in a Sentence

The staging of the play was more difficult than expected.

Recent Examples on the Web

David Zinn’s set design, all framed with a flashy vaudeville-esque proscenium arch, is a grand playing field, even if the staging does push the action into strangely tight spaces and leaves too much empty space. —Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 4 Apr. 2024

Something similar will be attempted in the upcoming Opera Philadelphia staging, directed by Ethan Heard, in which Cio-Cio-San will be represented by a doll, separate from the soprano. —Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2024

Hondo’s staging is clear and classical, with mighty formations of soldiers, skirmishes on horseback, terrifying acts of brutality, turbulent crowd scenes, and intimate dramas of debate, whispers of counsel, and hubristic rants. —Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2024

When the unspecified nation in this staging plunges into war following the death of the Marquis, the fact is driven home by trios of Black Hawk helicopters advancing through thick clouds of smoke. —Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 18 Mar. 2024

The first-time director, Sam Yates, working from a utilitarian script by Tom Bateman, slathers on mood, yet there’s a primitive charge to the film’s no-frills staging. —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 10 Mar. 2024

Understanding the staging system means considering its limitations. —Anna Almendrala, Health, 30 Mar. 2024

Instead, the top staging note is provided by Peter Nigrini’s projections, including live video, that tumble across David Korins’s skeletal, shape-shifting set. —Jesse Green, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2024

For about three thousand years, staging had been the province of writers, lead actors, or theatrical managers, whose responsibilities were part technical (read: thunder noises), part entrepreneurial. —Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing staging

• staging area
• staging ground
• staging post

Kids Definition

staging

noun

stag·​ing

ˈstā-jiŋ

1

: scaffolding sense 1

2

: the putting of a play on the stage

Medical Definition

staging

noun

: the classification of the severity of a disease in distinct stages on the basis of established symptomatic criteria