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

Example Sentences

In the television studio, Norwegian sports legends rebuked him for upstaging his teammate who won gold.

From The Wall Street Journal

Denmark's Tobias Lund Andresen upstaged a crack field of sprinters in a hectic finish to win the first stage of the Tour Down Under on Wednesday.

From Barron's

Amber Glenn upstaged world champion Alysa Liu with a record score to take the lead after the women's short program at the US Figure Skating Championships in St Louis on Wednesday.

From Barron's

Instead, there is smoke and vivid use of light—in the most dramatic sequences, such as the fire, a wall-size blaze of color angles forward from a bank of instruments on the floor upstage.

From The Wall Street Journal

In fact, Bradbury laughs at the idea of some of the bands he knows opening for them — as long as it’s not his new band upstaging Pennywise.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• overshadow