theatre

See also théâtre

English

Etymology

From French théâtre.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

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• Audio (UK)

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Noun

theatre (plural theatres)

1. (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK) Alternative spelling of theater.
   • 2012 May 13, Phil McNulty, “Man City 3-2 QPR”, BBC Sport:

     City's players and supporters travelled from one end of the emotional scale to the other in those vital seconds, providing a truly remarkable piece of football theatre and the most dramatic conclusion to a season in Premier League history.

2. (US) Often used specifically of playhouses and drama, so as to distinguish from moviehouses and cinema.

Usage notes

• The spelling theatre is the main spelling in Commonwealth English, with theater being rare.
• The spelling theater is the predominant American spelling; it accounts for about 80% of usage in COCA (the major corpus of American English). People who work in the theatre industry in America, however, usually use the spelling "theatre".

Anagrams

• hat tree, hattree, teareth, tethera, theater, thereat

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Middle French

Noun

theatre m (plural theatres)

1. theatre