onstage

American  

[on-stayj, awn-] / ˈɒnˈsteɪdʒ, ˈɔn- /

adverb

1. on or onto the stage (opposed to offstage).

   The director shouted, “Onstage, everybody!”

---

adjective

1. of, relating to, or used in the acting area, or that part of the stage that is in view of the audience.

Etymology

Origin of onstage

First recorded in 1925–30; on + stage

Explanation

When you do something onstage, you do it in front of an audience. Onstage tap dancing can be exhilarating to watch if the dancers are good, or embarrassing if they're not. An onstage mistake, like a forgotten line or a dropped prop, can sometimes be concealed by quick-thinking actors. Your role in the school play might turn out not to have any lines at all, but to involve your character lurking around onstage looking mysterious. The opposite of onstage is offstage, meaning things that occur where the audience can't see them.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

onstage

Linderman took her first class four days later and was already onstage the next day.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

“Carson, you guys have to do better. This was horrible. Horrible. And I’m so sorry that I played because I would not have gotten onstage knowing that she was still there.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

He was joined onstage by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who echoed the idea that AI will be integrated into all computing going forward and on all devices.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

And Shannon and Narducy et. al. manifest all of this onstage.

From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026

Me: I felt angry when Callum made that joke before we went onstage.

From "Maybe He Just Likes You" by Barbara Dee