theater
nounUS /ˈθi(ə)tɚ/ · UK /ˈθiː.ə.tə/
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.
8 senses
- 1A place or building, consisting of a stage and seating…
- 2A region where a particular action takes place; a…
- 3A lecture theatre.
- 4An operating theatre or locale for human experimentation.
- 5A cinema.
- 6Drama or performance as a profession or art form.
- 7Any place rising by steps like the seats of a theater.
- 8A conspicuous but unproductive display of action.
US 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.
US A region where a particular action takes place; a specific field of action, usually with reference to war.
- 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.2019, Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys, Fleet, page 69:
US A lecture theatre.
- This man is about to die, get him into theater at once!
US A cinema.
- We sat in the back row of the theater and threw popcorn at the screen.
US Drama or performance as a profession or art form.
- I worked in theater for twenty-five years.
US Any place rising by steps like the seats of a theater.
US, Derogatory, Figuratively A conspicuous but unproductive display of action.
Often following a noun used attributively
- The Senate confirmation hearings were just theater.
- security theater; hygiene theater
1 more example
- ACTA proponents rely on claims of a growing piracy and counterfeiting threat. In the absence of credible evidence of the threat or that the measures in ACTA will reduce the threat, ACTA is no more than enforcement theater.2012, Andrew Rens, “Enforcement Theater: The Enforcement Agenda and the Institutionalization of Enforcement Theater in the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement”, in Suffolk Transnational Law Review, volume 35:
- Derived terms
55 terms
antitheater, cybertheater, intertheater, microtheater, minitheater, multitheater, nontheater, paratheater, posttheater, pretheater, theatercore, theaterette, theaterless, theaterlike, theaterwide, theatral, theatric, theatrical, theatrically, atmospheric theater, boat-in theater, dinner theater, dubbing theater, guerrilla theater, home theater, hygiene theater, illegitimate theater, kabuki theater, legitimate theater, movie theater, moving-picture theater, musical theater, security theater, senior theater, shout fire in a crowded theater, shouting fire in a crowded theater, stock theater, street theater, theatergoer, theatergoing, theater-in-the-round, theater in the round, theater kid, theaterland, theater of cruelty, theater of fact, theater of panic, theater of protest, theater of the absurd, theater of the mind, theater of the streets, theater of war, theatremaker, theatermaker, variety theater- Related terms
- amphitheater