stage fright

American  

noun

1. nervousness felt by a performer or speaker when appearing before an audience.

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stage fright British  

noun

1. nervousness or panic that may beset a person about to appear in front of an audience

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stage fright Idioms  

1. Acute nervousness when performing or speaking before an audience, as in When John first had to present his findings to the board of directors, stage fright made him stutter. [Second half of 1800s]

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Etymology

Origin of stage fright

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stage fright

His parents encouraged his musical education, and he’s performed enough in bands and local musical theater not to suffer from stage fright.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

The rapper and singer will.i.am has played hundreds of shows and sold millions of records, but his latest debut—as a professor of a college class about artificial intelligence—gave him stage fright.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026

He comes over laughing, pulls up to me, looks at my monitor, gives me stage fright, then elbows me and says, “You sure you want to frame it like that?”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026

Robbie has spoken openly about suffering from stage fright in the past, experiencing terror before walking on stage.

From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2026

“I know! You’ve got stage fright. I know all about stage fright. My uncle Bill says my dad has terrible stage fright and that’s why he lets other people get rich performing his songs.”

From "George" by Alex Gino