upstage

American  

[uhp-steyj] / ˈʌpˈsteɪdʒ /

adverb

1. on or toward the back of the stage.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or located at the back of the stage.

2. haughtily aloof; supercilious.

verb (used with object)

upstaged, upstaging

1. to overshadow (another performer) by moving upstage and forcing the performer to turn away from the audience.

2. to outdo professionally, socially, etc.

3. to behave snobbishly toward.

noun

1. the rear half of the stage.

2. any stage position to the rear of another.

upstage British  

/ ˈʌpˈsteɪdʒ /

adverb

1. on, at, or to the rear of the stage

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adjective

1. of or relating to the back half of the stage

2. informal haughty; supercilious; aloof

verb

1. to move upstage of (another actor), thus forcing him to turn away from the audience

2. informal to draw attention to oneself from (someone else); steal the show from (someone)

3. informal to treat haughtily

noun

1. the back half of the stage

Etymology

Origin of upstage

First recorded in 1905–10; up- + stage

Explanation

To upstage is to steal the show. If you try to upstage your Grease costar, you'll attempt to pull the audience's attention away from him and onto you at the back of the stage doing cartwheels. A child actor might accidentally upstage an adult simply by being adorable, or a minor character could upstage the star of a play with an amazing performance. When you upstage someone, the audience's focus shifts from that person to you. Another way to use the verb upstage is to describe the acting technique of moving back on the stage, away from the audience, so that another actor must turn her back toward them.

Example Sentences

So the third feature, “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t,” brings in three lesser-known younger performers to both upstage their elders and get a little coaching from them.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 13, 2025

On the day of the event, she said, she and her friends weren’t there to provoke Kirk, or to upstage him.

From Slate • Oct. 30, 2025

Darnold leads the league with 11 touchdown passes and would like nothing better than to stick one on his former side - and upstage headline-maker Rodgers in the process.

From BBC • Oct. 1, 2024

“Any time Dennis could upstage Mike, he’d do it,” Jardine tells The Times.

From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2024

It hung and moved with majesty in folds like an infinite traveler upstage in an infinite theater.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck

Related Words

• overshadow