theater

or the·a·tre

[ thee-uh-ter, theeuh- ]

noun

1. a building, part of a building, or outdoor area for housing dramatic performances or stage entertainments, or for showing movies.
2. the audience at a theatrical performance or movie:

   The whole theater was weeping.

3. a theatrical or acting company.
4. a room or hall, fitted with tiers of seats rising like steps, used for lectures, surgical demonstrations, etc.:

   Students crowded into the operating theater.

5. the theater, dramatic performances as a branch of art; the field or discipline of staged drama:

   an actress devoted to the theater.

6. Often the theater. dramatic works collectively, as of literature, a nation, or an author:

   the theater of Ibsen.

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

   good theater;

   bad theater;

   pure theater.

8. a place of dramatic action, especially during a war: theater of war.

   the Pacific theater during World War II.

   Synonyms: stage, site, arena

9. a public display of action or speech that gives a false impression of accomplishing or promising something, merely for the sake of appearances (often used in combination): Public health experts have said that the time and money spent on cleaning may be unnecessary hygiene theater. Forget all his blustering about doing what's best for our city—it's just theater to please his union masters and protect his political base.

   Washington D.C.'s Metro transit system has instituted random bag searches, and many travelers are just as unhappy about the security theater on the train as in the airport.

   Public health experts have said that the time and money spent on cleaning may be unnecessary hygiene theater.

   Companies need to go beyond diversity theater and commit to long-term, concrete metrics for change.

   Forget all his blustering about doing what's best for our city—it's just theater to please his union masters and protect his political base.

10. a natural formation of land rising by steps or gradations.

Pronunciation Note

Theater, an early Middle English borrowing from French, originally had its primary stress on the second syllable: [tey-, ah, -t, r, uh]. 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]. A pronunciation with stress on the second syllable and the vowel [ey], as [thee-, ey, -ter] or sometimes [thee, -ey-ter] is characteristic chiefly of a nonstandard regional pronunciation in the United States that may be perceived as uneducated.

Other Words From

• non·the·a·ter adjective
• pre·the·a·ter adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of theater¹

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

Example Sentences

You can’t shout fire in a crowded theater when there is no fire.

From Salon

The beauty in our home didn’t announce itself like it did in the movies I worshiped during countless weekend family trips to the Marina del Rey theater.

From Los Angeles Times

As Barack Obama explained when the military first opened up combat roles for women, the urban and guerrilla nature of most modern warfare means that female service members were already "in a war theater" and "at great risk."

From Salon

Golden’s reality-TV background and matchmaking insight — she said she’s personally responsible for three successful marriages to date — are behind her new comedy show and divorced singles mixer debuting Saturday night at Westside Comedy Theater in Santa Monica.

From Los Angeles Times

In another, strangers sing together from their cars in a drive-in theater parking lot, flashing their headlights at the glowing screen — their distance and location a reminder of the pandemic era.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• amphitheater
• arena
• auditorium
• cinema
• concert hall
• drama
• hall
• house
• movie
• movie house
• opera house
• playhouse
• room
• scene
• site
• theatre