Definition of "stage whisper" [stage whisper]

• The conventional whisper of an actor, intended to be heard by the audience but supposedly inaudible to others on stage. (noun)
• A whisper that can be or is intended to be overheard. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Ruth let the brother-in-law know that the hospital was going to cost a fortune, got his promise to pick up the tab, then lowered her voice to a stage whisper that could have been heard in the next county: Her name is Mary Clark."
• "Alain Goldberg abandons the stage whisper and gives a full-bodied yell."
• "“Frank, Frank, where are you?” she said in a stage whisper as she shuffled into the stilly blackness of the barn, her toes exploring the unknown ground in front of her as sensitively as an animal."