stage fright

noun

"stage-fright" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“stage fright” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A state of nervousness about performing some action in front of a group of people, on or off of a stage; nerves; a lack of self-assurance before an audience.

Key facts for stage fright
PropertyValue
Headwordstage fright
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “stage fright” sits in English frequency

stage fright falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

stage fright is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

stage fright has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From stage + fright. The correct English form is stage fright, spelled S-T-A-G-E- -F-R-I-G-H-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A state of nervousness about performing some action in front of a group of people, on or off of a stage; nerves; a lack of self-assurance before an audience.
  2. 2
    Synonym of paruresis.

Etymology

From stage + fright.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "stage fright"?
"stage fright" is spelled S-T-A-G-E- -F-R-I-G-H-T.
What does "stage fright" mean?
As a noun, "stage fright" means: A state of nervousness about performing some action in front of a group of people, on or off of a stage; nerves; a lack of self-assurance before an audience.
What is the origin of the word "stage fright"?
From stage + fright. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “stage fright”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-T-A-G-E- -F-R-I-G-H-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list