Also spelled theatre
noun
Freq #2638
Meanings
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1
noun
A building where plays or films are shown.
We sat in the back row of the theater and watched the show.
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2
noun
The activity or art of writing and performing plays.
I worked in theater for twenty-five years.
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3
noun
An area where a war or military action takes place.
His grandfather served in the Pacific theater during the war.
Thesaurus
Synonyms
Word family
Forms
theaters
Derived forms
theater-in-the-roundtheaterettetheatergoertheatergoingtheaterlandtheaterlesstheatermakertheaterwidetheatraltheatremakertheatrictheatrical
Related forms
amphitheater
Etymology
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.
*dʰeyh₂-
Proto-Indo-European
theater
Middle English
theatre
Old French
theātrum
Latin
θέᾱτρον
Ancient Greek
View etymology graph ->