Theater Meaning
/ˈθi(ə)tɚ/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA place or building, consisting of a stage and seating, in which an audience gathers to watch plays, musical performances, public ceremonies, and so on.
nounA region where a particular action takes place; a specific field of action, usually with reference to war.
Sentence Examples
I recognized the bank teller as the man I had seen in the movie theater.
You cannot take a picture in the theater without permission.
CEFR Practice Quiz
We went to the ____ to watch a play by Shakespeare.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
We went to the local ____ to see a new play that was receiving very positive reviews from all the critics today.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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:
"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:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
We went to the ____ to watch a play by Shakespeare.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
We went to the local ____ to see a new play that was receiving very positive reviews from all the critics today.