Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

theater

/ˈθi(ə)tɚ/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.35 in modern English

Syllables: the-ater
IPA: /ˈθi(ə)tɚ/

10

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

3

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A place or building, consisting of a stage and seating, in which an audience gathers to watch plays, musical performances, public ceremonies, and so on.

American usage; Countable

noun

A region where a particular action takes place; a specific field of action, usually with reference to war.

American usage; Countable; Uncountable

noun

A lecture theatre.

American usage; Countable; Uncountable

noun

An operating theatre or locale for human experimentation.

American usage; Countable; Uncountable

noun

American usage; Countable; Uncountable

noun

Drama or performance as a profession or art form.

American usage; Countable; Uncountable

noun

Any place rising by steps like the seats of a theater.

American usage; Countable; Uncountable

noun

A conspicuous but unproductive display of action.

American usage; Countable; Derogatory; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"His grandfather was in the Pacific theater during the war."
"Percy had been too big for the town since he got back from the war. He served in the Pacific theater, behind the lines keeping up the supply chain."
"This man is about to die, get him into theater at once!"
"We sat in the back row of the theater and threw popcorn at the screen."
"I worked in theater for twenty-five years."
"The Senate confirmation hearings were just theater."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyh₂-der. Ancient Greek θεάομαι (theáomai) Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *-trom Proto-Hellenic *-tron Ancient Greek -τρον (-tron) Ancient Greek θέᾱτρον (théātron)der. Latin theātrumbor. Old French teatrebor. Middle English theater, theatre English theater Inherited from Middle English theater, theatre, from Old French theatre, from Latin theātrum, from Ancient Greek θέᾱτρον (théātron, “a place for viewing”), from θεᾰ́ομαι (theắomai, “to see", "to watch", "to observe”). Doublet of tiatr.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: *dʰeyh₂-, theater, theatre, theātrum, θέᾱτρον

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈθi(ə)tɚ/
British English: /ˈθiː.ə.tə/

Usage

Inflected Forms

theaters (plural) theatre (alternative)

Derived Forms

antitheater cybertheater intertheater microtheater minitheater multitheater nontheater paratheater posttheater pretheater theatercore theaterette

Phrases

atmospheric theater boat-in theater dinner theater dubbing theater guerrilla theater home theater hygiene theater illegitimate theater

Frequently Paired Words

amphitheater

Synonyms

playhouse fabulous invalid theatre house dramaturgy dramatic art dramatics field field of operations theater of operations theatre of operations

Rhymes With

theatre

Questions

How do you pronounce theater?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈθi(ə)tɚ/.
What does theater mean?: A place or building, consisting of a stage and seating, in which an audience gathers to watch plays, musical performances, public ceremonies, and so on.
Where does theater come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce theater

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “theater”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈθi(ə)tɚ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “theater”.
Repeat and practice — Say “theater” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.