Meaning & use
backstage
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Meanings
adverb
In or toward the area behind the stage of a theater, where the audience cannot see.
Grammar: Used after verbs of movement or position: go backstage, wait backstage. No object follows.
Patterns
- go backstage
- wait backstage
- meet someone backstage
After the show, we were allowed to go backstage and meet the actors.
She waited backstage until it was her turn to walk on.
The dancers were laughing backstage while the audience took their seats.
adjectivebefore a noun
Relating to the hidden area behind a stage, or to the private parts of a performance.
Grammar: Comes before a noun: a backstage pass, backstage news.
Patterns
- a backstage pass
- backstage staff
- backstage news
He showed me his backstage pass for the concert.
Backstage staff were busy moving the scenery.
There was backstage drama when the lead singer lost his voice.
adverbfigurative
In private, away from public view or attention.
Grammar: Figurative use; often with talk or negotiate to suggest secret discussions.
Patterns
- talk backstage
- negotiate backstage
The two leaders talked backstage before the meeting began.
Much of the deal was arranged backstage, out of the public eye.
Delegates negotiated backstage while the cameras stayed outside.
Common combinations
- go backstage
- Fans who bought the special ticket could go backstage.
- a backstage pass
- A backstage pass lets you into the area behind the stage.
- backstage at a concert
- She was working backstage at a concert all weekend.
- backstage talks
- Backstage talks between the parties continued for hours.
Synonyms and how they differ
- behind the scenes
- Very close in both the theater and the figurative sense, but it is a prepositional phrase rather than one word.
- offstage
- This means away from the stage area or not visible to the audience, but it does not mean the area behind the stage itself.
Opposites
Word family
- stage noun
- The raised area in a theater where performers appear.
- upstage adverb
- Toward the back part of a stage, away from the audience.
Commonly confused: backstage or onstage?
backstage vs onstage
Onstage means on the stage, where the audience can see you; backstage means behind the stage, out of sight.
Practice
The singer invited us to meet her ______ after the show.
Choose one answer.
'Backstage' is the area behind the stage where performers meet guests. 'Onstage' would mean on the stage itself, in front of the audience.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “backstage”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.