theater

or the·a·tre

[ thee-uh-ter, theeuh- ]

/ ˈθi ə tər, ˈθiə- /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR theater ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a building, part of a building, or outdoor area for housing dramatic presentations, stage entertainments, or motion-picture shows.

the audience at a theatrical or motion-picture performance: The theater wept.

a theatrical or acting company.

a room or hall, fitted with tiers of seats rising like steps, used for lectures, surgical demonstrations, etc.: Students crowded into the operating theater.

the theater, dramatic performances as a branch of art; the drama: an actress devoted to the theater.

dramatic works collectively, as of literature, a nation, or an author (often preceded by the): the theater of Ibsen.

the quality or effectiveness of dramatic performance: good theater; bad theater; pure theater.

a place of action; field of operations.

a natural formation of land rising by steps or gradations.

Origin of theater

1325–75; Middle English theatre < Latin theātrum < Greek théātron seeing place, theater, equivalent to theā-, stem of theâsthai to view + -tron suffix denoting means or place

SYNONYMS FOR theater

8 arena, site, stage, setting, scene.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR theater ON THESAURUS.COM

pronunciation note for theater

Theater, an early Middle English borrowing from French, originally had its primary stress on the second syllable:

[French tey-ah-truh] /French teɪˈɑ trə/. As with many early French borrowings ( beauty, carriage, marriage ), the stress moved to the first syllable, in conformity with a common English pattern of stress, and this pattern remains the standard one for theater today:

[thee-uh-ter, theeuh-] /ˈθi ə tər, ˈθiə-/. A pronunciation with stress on the second syllable and the

[ey] /eɪ/ vowel:

[thee-ey-ter] /θiˈeɪ tər/ or sometimes

[thee-ey-ter] /ˈθiˌeɪ tər/ is characteristic chiefly of uneducated speech.

OTHER WORDS FROM theater

non·the·a·ter, adjective pre·the·a·ter, adjective

Words nearby theater

theaceous, theanthropic, theanthropism, thearchy, theat., theater, theater of cruelty, theater of operations, theater of the absurd, theater of war, theater-in-the-round

Example sentences from the Web for theater

His surprise marriage to theater director Sophie Hunter may have broken hearts, but the squeals of delight were even louder.

All Your Internet Boyfriends Are Taken: Gosling, Cumberbatch, and now Joseph Gordon-Levitt |Melissa Leon |January 3, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
Now hackers are threatening to bomb any theater that shows it.

Six Must-Read Stories About the Sony Hacks, Congo’s Forgotten Colonial Getaway and Another Woman’s Story of U-VA |The Daily Beast |December 20, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The theater manager called security, and three moonlighting off-duty police deputies arrived.

How the U.S. Justice System Screws Prisoners with Disabilities |Elizabeth Picciuto |December 16, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
After the show, Executive Chef Michael Franey explained the process by which the theater selects its menu.

Dinner at Nitehawk Cinema: ‘Christmas Vacation’ and a Beer in a Pear Tree |Rich Goldstein |December 12, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

After such a barnstorming stage debut, and while “my heart is in theater,” screen acting intrigues him.

The Brit Who Stormed Broadway |Tim Teeman |December 7, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
They were to meet at the theater, dress there, and go up to the house in taxicabs.

Continuous Vaudeville |Will M. Cressy
Then he gaily sauntered on, until reaching the theater he stopped and made a number of inquiries.

The Strollers |Frederic S. Isham
Everybody brought fire-crackers to the theater, and at a certain time all the fire-crackers were set off.

The Boy With the U.S. Census |Francis Rolt-Wheeler
She was in the habit of going to the theater every night with me to help me to change my costumes for the different scenes.

The Bride of the Tomb and Queenie's Terrible Secret |Mrs. Alexander McVeigh Miller
They met him coming from the rear of the theater, as he had done his “turn,” and was not to go on again for three hours.

Ned Wilding's Disappearance |Allen Chapman

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

theater

or the·a·tre

noun

Origin of theater

SYNONYMS FOR theater

pronunciation note for theater

OTHER WORDS FROM theater

Words nearby theater

Example sentences from the Web for theater

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

theater

or the·a·tre

noun

Origin of theater

SYNONYMS FOR theater

pronunciation note for theater

OTHER WORDS FROM theater

Words nearby theater

Words related to theater

Example sentences from the Web for theater