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theater
[ thee-uh-ter, theeuh- ]
noun
- a building, part of a building, or outdoor area for housing dramatic performances or stage entertainments, or for showing movies.
- the audience at a theatrical performance or movie:
The whole theater was weeping.
- a theatrical or acting company.
- a room or hall, fitted with tiers of seats rising like steps, used for lectures, surgical demonstrations, etc.:
Students crowded into the operating theater.
- the theater, dramatic performances as a branch of art; the field or discipline of staged drama:
an actress devoted to the theater.
- Often the theater. dramatic works collectively, as of literature, a nation, or an author:
the theater of Ibsen.
- the quality or effectiveness of dramatic performance: bad theater;
good theater;
bad theater;
pure theater.
- a place of dramatic action, especially during a war: theater of war.
the Pacific theater during World War II.
- a public display of action or speech that gives a false impression of accomplishing or promising something, merely for the sake of appearances (often used in combination): Public health experts have said that the time and money spent on cleaning may be unnecessary hygiene theater. Forget all his blustering about doing what's best for our city—it's just theater to please his union masters and protect his political base.
Washington D.C.'s Metro transit system has instituted random bag searches, and many travelers are just as unhappy about the security theater on the train as in the airport.
Public health experts have said that the time and money spent on cleaning may be unnecessary hygiene theater.
Companies need to go beyond diversity theater and commit to long-term, concrete metrics for change.
Forget all his blustering about doing what's best for our city—it's just theater to please his union masters and protect his political base.
- a natural formation of land rising by steps or gradations.
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Pronunciation Note
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Other Words From
- non·the·a·ter adjective
- pre·the·a·ter adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of theater1
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Example Sentences
His surprise marriage to theater director Sophie Hunter may have broken hearts, but the squeals of delight were even louder.
Her mother had a musical theater background, so Malone grew up backstage, watching productions come to fruition.
Now hackers are threatening to bomb any theater that shows it.
Regal Entertainment Group is the biggest and most geographically diverse theater company in the country.
The theater manager called security, and three moonlighting off-duty police deputies arrived.
By 1740, he was far enough removed from the theater to have a slightly different perspective on language.
Thus, twenty-nine years later, this theater was donated to Williamsburg to be used as a town hall.
Although many British actors and musicians were participants in this theater, it often suffered from financial stress.
The doors of this theater had been constructed in such a way that they only opened inwardly.
The leading actors and actresses of the country played at the Richmond Theater with pride.
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