stage-manage
Americanverb (used with object)
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to work as a stage manager for.
When he wasn't acting, he stage-managed a repertory theater.
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to arrange or stage in order to produce a theatrical or spectacular effect.
The clients were most impressed with the way she stage-managed the whole presentation.
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to arrange or direct unobtrusively or in secret.
He stage-managed Mediterranean black-market operations from his secluded villa on the Riviera.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to work as stage manager for (a play, etc)
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(tr) to arrange, present, or supervise from behind the scenes
to stage-manage a campaign
Etymology
Origin of stage-manage
First recorded in 1875–80; back formation from stage manager
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“This motley crew try so hard to stage-manage this moment together because they love her so much and want her to succeed, and it’s just so sweet,” explained Marshall.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2023
But an outburst at a news conference Tuesday showed the country is struggling to stage-manage the global event and keep the lid on domestic controversies.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 8, 2022
They speak to the living and stage-manage events from the grave.
From Fox News ● Mar. 23, 2019
In the later hours, your ability to stage-manage yourself gets weaker, your ability to hold it together starts to erode.
From New York Times ● Sep. 5, 2018
You and I, as staid, level-headed outsiders, are going to stage-manage their reconciliation.”
From The Lady of the Basement Flat by Earnshaw, Elizabeth
It wasn't stage-managed, it was just joy - so hard to come by but so simple.
From BBC ● May 6, 2026
As the New York Times reported, Erika Kirk carefully stage-managed the days and weeks after her husband’s murder, making sure to photograph and publish every potentially cinematic moment of her grief.
From Salon ● Nov. 10, 2025
The operation, she said, had been planned for some time, countering suggestions in the Mexican media that it had been stage-managed to win over the Trump team.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2024
Some big news in the world or an internal failure would spark a wave of carefully stage-managed soul-searching from leadership, and ad hoc committees of well-intentioned volunteers would be assembled to write lists of recommendations.
From Slate ● Apr. 16, 2024
I could escape the stage-managed multilateral meetings and sit-downs with leaders and find new ways to bring a little extra warmth to those otherwise staid visits.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
She enjoyed stage-managing debates and revelled in her role of making Parliament the focus of attention.
From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2023
Discomfort and irritation are vital emotions for readers — but if the author is stage-managing us, she pushes a bit too far.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2021
Sandra Charles was stage-managing as she posed with friend Jamie Coleman in front of the photo-booth setup at the bright-orange Vizzy trailer.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 21, 2021
But after 10 years at the Universal Studios theme park in California, he is only No. 13 on the stage-managing roster.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 1, 2020
The parts are written: hear the super wail: "Who is stage-managing this cosmic show?"
From Songs of a Sourdough by Service, Robert W. (Robert William)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
