frontstage

F4R1O1N1T1S1T1A1G2E1

adjective

Open, occurring in full view of the public or in a public role.

Scrabble 14

Meanings

adjectivefrontstage (not comparable)
  1. not comparableOpen, occurring in full view of the public or in a public role.

    Goffman is alert to the situational variability of the roles we play, distinguishing "frontstage" from "backstage" performances.

    2001, Daniel Rigney, The Metaphorical Society: An Invitation to Social Theory, →ISBN, page 153
    1 more example

    In the light of the 'new work order' requiring explicit accounting of knowledge and responsibility as in case talks, evaluation of professional practice may be a matter of how and where boundaries are drawn between frontstage and backstage activities.

    1999, Srikant Sarangi, Celia Roberts, Talk, Work and Institutional Order: Discourse in Medical, Mediation, and Management Settings, →ISBN, page 68
adverbfrontstage (not comparable)
  1. not comparableIn full view of the public or in a public role.

    There are many possible examples which you could use to answer this question: e.g. doctor–patient interactions where the doctor discusses the patient's problems backstage with a colleague or a nurse before meeting the patient frontstage.

    2013, Janet Holmes, An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, →ISBN, page 403
nounfrontstage (plural frontstages)

plural frontstages

  1. The public area of a business or enterprise.

    Another broad issue regarding the physical setting involves decisions about the setting's frontstage and backstage.

    2013, Raymond Fisk, Stephen Grove, Joby John, Services Marketing Interactive Approach, →ISBN, page 73
    1 more example

    In the 1970s, MacCannell (1973) developed a six-stage frontstage/backstage model of authenticity that can be applied to theme parks as well as to other tourist sites.

    2005, Sue Beeton, Film-induced Tourism, →ISBN, page 188

Origin

Cite this entry
APA

frontstage. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/frontstage

MLA

“frontstage.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/frontstage. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “frontstage,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/frontstage.

Source: frontstage on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.