back·stage
ˈbak-ˌstāj 
1
: of, relating to, or occurring in the area behind the stage and especially in the dressing rooms
2
: of or relating to the private lives of theater people
3
: of or relating to the inner working or operation (as of an organization)
back·stage
ˈbak-ˈstāj
1
: in or to a backstage area
2
: in private : secretly
Synonyms
Examples of backstage in a Sentence
Adverb
After the show, we went backstage to meet the band.
some of the most important decisions were made backstage, and only presented to the full committee afterward
Recent Examples on the Web
Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024
The noise emitted was quieter than the original Supersonic dryer — despite the hectic nature of the backstage scene with multiple dryers blasting at once, hairstylists were able to use their inside voices.
—Annie Blay, Allure, 9 Feb. 2024
Miley Cyrus picked up her first pair of Grammy Awards on Sunday, but perhaps a backstage moment was her favorite of the night when Flavor Flav finally got her name right.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 5 Feb. 2024
In September 2022, Tomas posted a backstage picture on Instagram from The Late Late Show with James Corden after his beau appeared on the show.
—Kara Nesvig, Peoplemag, 4 Jan. 2024
Producers Maria Altamirano, Barry Jenkins and Adele Romanski are backstage with me, as well as some of the team of distributor A24.
—Raven Jackson, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2023
Black & Yellow Jimmy Fallon and Chelsea Handler share a backstage moment at The Tonight Show on Oct. 4.
—Alexandra Schonfeld, Peoplemag, 6 Oct. 2023
Adding to all the backstage drama is Clea (Rebecca Liddiard), the props manager who’s angling to find a way for her girlfriend, Rachel (Vinessa Antoine), who’s understudying role of Salome, to get her shot in the spotlight.
—Michael Rechtshaffen, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Sep. 2023
The interaction was captured on video as Hailey was backstage with her father, Stephen Baldwin, when Justin had an appearance on the Today show.
—Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 14 Sep. 2023
Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 14 Apr. 2024
Truck drivers often don’t have a chance to do their laundry easily on the road, for example, so Intuit Dome has built-in laundry facilities for visiting crews backstage – not unlike how, on the basketball side, referees have been given their own locker room.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
The camera proceeded to pan to Powell sitting in the audience, but the actress clarified her fiancé was actually backstage.
—Carly Thomas, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Mar. 2024
While walking backstage at Altuzarra show, several editors, models, and influencers complimented me on the outfit.
—Larry Stansbury, Essence, 3 Apr. 2024
The song was written in June 2022, when Crutchfield was backstage at Virginia’s Wolf Trap opening for Sheryl Crow and Jason Isbell.
—Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 27 Mar. 2024
Both reverently recalled Prince cornering them backstage before a gig to advocate for artists to get paid when DJs spun their records.
—August Brown, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2024
While the clubhouse was still under construction that first season, players changed clothes backstage at nearby Starlight Theater.
—Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024
The photo, in which Britney appears to be mid-conversation while Jamie Lynn stares off into the distance, was snapped while the sisters were waiting backstage to meet the cast of Hairspray at the Neil Simon Theater, per Getty Images.
—Natalia Senanayake, Peoplemag, 15 Feb. 2024
Adjective
Jimmy Kimmel gets big laughs in his opening monologue, then brings on the backstage crew for an ovation; Bakody spots her husband.
—Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024
The noise emitted was quieter than the original Supersonic dryer — despite the hectic nature of the backstage scene with multiple dryers blasting at once, hairstylists were able to use their inside voices.
—Annie Blay, Allure, 9 Feb. 2024
Miley Cyrus picked up her first pair of Grammy Awards on Sunday, but perhaps a backstage moment was her favorite of the night when Flavor Flav finally got her name right.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 5 Feb. 2024
In September 2022, Tomas posted a backstage picture on Instagram from The Late Late Show with James Corden after his beau appeared on the show.
—Kara Nesvig, Peoplemag, 4 Jan. 2024
Producers Maria Altamirano, Barry Jenkins and Adele Romanski are backstage with me, as well as some of the team of distributor A24.
—Raven Jackson, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2023
Black & Yellow Jimmy Fallon and Chelsea Handler share a backstage moment at The Tonight Show on Oct. 4.
—Alexandra Schonfeld, Peoplemag, 6 Oct. 2023
Adding to all the backstage drama is Clea (Rebecca Liddiard), the props manager who’s angling to find a way for her girlfriend, Rachel (Vinessa Antoine), who’s understudying role of Salome, to get her shot in the spotlight.
—Michael Rechtshaffen, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Sep. 2023
The interaction was captured on video as Hailey was backstage with her father, Stephen Baldwin, when Justin had an appearance on the Today show.
—Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 14 Sep. 2023
Adverb
Swift and Kelce were spotted backstage at the Mojave tent to watch Jack Antonoff perform with his band Bleachers and they were later seen in the crowd during Ice Spice‘s set at the Sahara tent.
—Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 14 Apr. 2024
Truck drivers often don’t have a chance to do their laundry easily on the road, for example, so Intuit Dome has built-in laundry facilities for visiting crews backstage – not unlike how, on the basketball side, referees have been given their own locker room.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
The camera proceeded to pan to Powell sitting in the audience, but the actress clarified her fiancé was actually backstage.
—Carly Thomas, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Mar. 2024
While walking backstage at Altuzarra show, several editors, models, and influencers complimented me on the outfit.
—Larry Stansbury, Essence, 3 Apr. 2024
The song was written in June 2022, when Crutchfield was backstage at Virginia’s Wolf Trap opening for Sheryl Crow and Jason Isbell.
—Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 27 Mar. 2024
Both reverently recalled Prince cornering them backstage before a gig to advocate for artists to get paid when DJs spun their records.
—August Brown, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2024
While the clubhouse was still under construction that first season, players changed clothes backstage at nearby Starlight Theater.
—Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024
The photo, in which Britney appears to be mid-conversation while Jamie Lynn stares off into the distance, was snapped while the sisters were waiting backstage to meet the cast of Hairspray at the Neil Simon Theater, per Getty Images.
—Natalia Senanayake, Peoplemag, 15 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'backstage.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near backstage
Cite this Entry
“Backstage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/backstage. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
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