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stage direction
noun
: a description (as of a character or setting) or direction (as to indicate stage business) provided in the text of a play
Examples of stage direction in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Michaels reads the stage directions for each sketch aloud but refrains from commentary.
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Susan Morrison, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2025
Even like having to write the action lines, because a lot of my plays, there’s no stage directions.
—
Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2024
Sometimes Michael Mayer’s stage direction is too crisp and emphatic for its own good.
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Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 20 June 2024
The funniest bit about the script is the stage directions for the audience.
—
Megan Farokhmanesh, WIRED, 29 Feb. 2024
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Word History
First Known Use
1790, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near stage direction
Cite this Entry
“Stage direction.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stage%20direction. Accessed 19 Feb. 2025.
Kids Definition
stage direction
noun
: a playwright's instruction to a director and actors
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