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Meaning & use

theater

noun·EverydayAmerican

Last updated

UK/ˈθɪətə/
US/ˈθiːətər/

Meanings

  1. nouncountable

    A building or hall where audiences watch plays, concerts or other live shows.

    Grammar: Takes a plural: three theaters on the same street. British spelling is theatre.

    Patterns

    • go to the theater
    • a theater company

    We met outside the theater an hour before the show.

    The old theater downtown has been restored.

  2. nouncountableAmerican

    A place where movies are shown to an audience.

    Grammar: In American English, movie theater is the full phrase and theater alone is also common.

    Patterns

    • a movie theater

    The new theater has comfortable reclining seats.

    They bought popcorn at the theater and found their seats.

  3. noununcountable

    The art and profession of writing, producing and acting in plays.

    Grammar: No plural and no 'a': she works in theater.

    Patterns

    • work in theater
    • study theater

    She studied theater at college before moving to New York.

    Live theater is often more intense than film.

  4. nouncountablemilitary

    A region where a war or military operation takes place.

    Grammar: Usually followed by of operations or a place: the Pacific theater.

    Patterns

    • theater of war
    • theater of operations

    Several armies were active in the European theater.

    Supplies were flown into the theater by transport planes.

  5. nouncountablespecialist

    A room with raised seats used for lectures or demonstrations, such as for surgery.

    Grammar: Often 'operating theater' (British: theatre) or 'lecture theater'.

    Patterns

    • an operating theater
    • a lecture theater

    Medical students watched the surgery from the operating theater gallery.

    The professor spoke in a large lecture theater.

Word forms

pluraltheaters

Common combinations

movie theater
The movie theater was almost empty on Tuesday.
community theater
She acts in community theater on weekends.
live theater
Live theater is back in the city.
theater company
The theater company tours every summer.
theater of war
The island became a major theater of war.

Synonyms and how they differ

playhouse
A playhouse is specifically a building for plays and sounds somewhat old-fashioned.
cinema
Cinema is the British word for a movie theater and also means film as an art.
drama
Drama is the literary or performed art of plays, not the building.

Word family

theatrical adjective
relating to theater, or exaggerated and dramatic
theatrics noun
exaggerated emotional behavior
theatergoer noun
a person who regularly attends plays
theatrically adverb
in a dramatic way

Commonly confused: theater or theatre?

theater vs theatre

Theatre is the British spelling of the same word; American writing normally uses theater.

Practice

In American English, which word is the standard spelling for a place where plays are shown?

Make it your own

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