stage direction

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: stage directions on Thesaurus.com

noun

an instruction written into the script of a play, indicating stage actions, movements of performers, or production requirements.

the art or technique of a stage director.

QUIZ

TAKE JOY IN ACING THIS QUIZ ON “PRIDE” SYNONYMS

Hold your head up high as you embark on this quiz that explores some of the synonyms and meanings of “pride.”

Question 1 of 7

What does "dignity" mean?

showing self-respect

treating others with kindness

acting selfishly

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of stage direction

First recorded in 1780–90

Words nearby stage direction

stage brace, stage business, stagecoach, stagecraft, staged, stage direction, stage director, stage-dive, stage door, stage-door Johnny, stage-driver

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use stage direction in a sentence

As the cast gathered around a tiny printer, Benjamin spat out the screenplay, complete with almost impossible stage directions like "He is standing in the stars and sitting on the floor."
Movie written by algorithm turns out to be hilarious and intense|Annalee Newitz|May 30, 2021|Ars Technica
Pleasure shoots magically in every direction like an explosion of sparks.
‘A Gronking to Remember’ Speed Read: 8 Naughtiest Bits|Emily Shire|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Absent a body, no one can say with absolute certainty whether Castro is dead, even if all signs point in that direction.
An Informant, a Missing American, and Juarez’s House of Death: Inside the 12-Year Cold Case of David Castro|Bill Conroy|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But at this stage, he is either afraid or unable to get carried away by his thoughts.
The Lost Novel of Nobel-Winner José Saramago|Charles Shafaieh|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Whether he can do it on the national stage is the unanswered question.
Can Huckabee Convert the GOP’s Moneymen?|Lloyd Green|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
An arrow appears indicating the direction you will launch your ball.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art|Alec Kubas-Meyer|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
A lateen sail was visible in the direction of Cat Island, and others to the south seemed almost motionless in the far distance.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
After a bit of waiting, Mac decided that the smoke was floating from a certain direction, and we began to edge carefully that way.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
But between the phase of schooling and the phase of adult learning there is an intermediate stage.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
In practice we find a good deal of technical study comes into the college stage.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
In Scotland and America that is distinguished and thought of clearly as the college stage.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

British Dictionary definitions for stage direction

stage direction

noun theatre

an instruction to an actor or director, written into the script of a play

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for stage direction

stage direction

Part of the script of a play that tells the actors how they are to move or to speak their lines. Enter, exit, and exeunt are stage directions.