Thesaurus results for STAGES

stages 1 of 2

noun

Definition of stages next

plural of stage

as in podiums

a level usually raised surface spoke to the audience from a small stage in front

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Relevance

as in legs

a portion of a trip this is only the first stage of the journey

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as in phases

an individual part of a process, series, or ranking in the last stage of the project

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stages

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of stage

as in offers

to bring before the public in performance or exhibition staged the full body of Shakespeare's plays in the course of a year

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of stages

Noun

The bright spots Saturday, at least in the early stages, was the play of the Evans defense, new quarterback Will Jackson and transfer running backs O’Ryan Hartfield, from Ocoee, and Davion Williams, from Poinciana. —

Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 17 May 2026 Van Dyk shows their arrival from the perspective of the local residents, skillfully conveying the atmosphere particular to the early stages of an occupation. —

Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 16 May 2026 Death cap mushrooms, introduced to California in the 1930s, often grow near oak trees and can be difficult to distinguish from safe varieties, especially in early growth stages. —

Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 16 May 2026 The body is open to directors and producers at all career stages. —

Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 16 May 2026 Violations can initially result in $100 fines that may increase for repeat offenses or more severe drought stages. —

Nora O'Neill, Charlotte Observer, 15 May 2026 This suggests that photic sneezers are unusually sensitive to bright light from the very earliest stages of visual processing. —

Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026 With some teams on the metaphorical beach and others preparing for European finals, there could be even more scope for upsets than is usually the case in the final stages. —

Graham Ruthven, New York Times, 15 May 2026 In Boston, declining enrollment in public schools has prompted difficult conversations about school consolidation because fewer children are entering the pipeline at the earliest stages. —

Tina Dello Russo, Boston Herald, 10 May 2026

Verb

But by introducing a second amnesty period after the group stages, a player would need to be issued yellow cards in two of the three group-stage matches, or in two of the round of 32, last 16 and quarter-finals to receive a suspension. —

Dan Sheldon, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026 Harlin stages the shark attacks in an overt here-ya-go way, with the one consistent suspense issue being whether the shark will consume a victim whole or bite off his or her limb or simply leave them with a nasty gash (which happens quite often). —

Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 25 Apr. 2026 The biggest indie music fest in Colorado returns this weekend with the FoCoMX, which packs a whopping 450-plus live performances onto 40 downtown Fort Collins stages on Friday, April 24, and Saturday, April 25. —

John Wenzel, Denver Post, 23 Apr. 2026 Her work stages dialogues between contemporary and historical narratives through a distinctly dark, interdisciplinary lens. —

George Nelson, ARTnews.com, 20 Apr. 2026 Across town, drummer/impresario Mike Reed stages a tribute of his own to the city’s avant-garde, delving into everything from AACM bassist Fred Hopkins’ oeuvre to music composed in Chicago between 1980 and 2010. —

Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026 In the film, a modern-day young female director, Mariana, played by Ioana Iacob, stages a reënactment of the massacre at a square in Bucharest. —

Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026 The film centers on a teenage girl who stages a musical to confront the aftermath of a school tragedy. —

Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 9 Apr. 2026 This is where the city stages its daily open-air show — street artists sketching portraits, fortune-tellers shuffling cards and musicians playing for appreciative crowds. —

Lauren Schuster, Charlotte Observer, 8 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for stages

Noun

Antonelli is riding a high, with three wins, four podiums and three poles under his belt to start the year.

— Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 3 May 2026
While the other candidates pressed their palms against the podiums, ready to pounce on every question, Becerra clasped his hands like an altar boy.

— Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2026