offstage

American  

[awf-steyj, of-] / ˈɔfˈsteɪdʒ, ˈɒf- /

adverb

1. off the stage or in the wings; away from the view of the audience (opposed to onstage).

2. in one's private life rather than on the stage.

   Offstage the actress seemed rather plain.

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adjective

1. not in view of the audience; backstage, in the wings, etc..

   an offstage crash.

2. withheld from public view or attention; private.

   offstage political meetings.

offstage British  

/ ˈɒfˈsteɪdʒ /

adjective

1. out of the view of the audience; off the stage

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Etymology

Origin of offstage

First recorded in 1920–25; off + stage

Explanation

Offstage describes something that happens in the area of a theater stage that the audience can't see. An actor who's getting ready for his cue to stride onstage and say, "To be or not to be!" stands offstage. Offstage is a handy adverb when you're talking about a play. Things that happen offstage might not be visible to the audience, but they're vital to the show: costumers sew on missing buttons offstage, stagehands move parts of the set offstage during scene changes, and actors practice their lines offstage. Offstage works as an adjective or noun as well. You can use it figuratively too, for anything that goes on out of public sight.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

offstage

She reprised the show on Broadway two decades later, but for the latest iteration, presented by Lincoln Center Theater off-Broadway, Ms. Goldberg is staying offstage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

Add Sammy into that mix, all the fun I’ve had with Sammy onstage, offstage, in Cabo at his birthday parties?

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026

Much will come out in the exchanges between the accidental roommates that alters our perceptions of both, as well as our view of those offstage personages, living and dead.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026

Then, he satirizes conservatives’ discomfort with his Blackness by sitting silently as Martin Short, playing a nervous young Republican delivering a hackneyed diatribe, shudders in his presence before scampering offstage to fall apart.

From Salon ● Feb. 22, 2026

She literally stopped the concert midsong and dragged me offstage to go get a checkup.

From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott

Related Words

• unauthorized