Definition of "theater" in English

noun

1. (countable) A place or building, consisting of a stage and seating, in which an audience gathers to watch plays, musical performances, public ceremonies, and so on.

2. A region where a particular action takes place; a specific field of action, usually with reference to war.

   • His grandfather was in the Pacific theater during the war.

3. A lecture theatre.

4. (medicine) An operating theatre or locale for human experimentation.

   • This man is about to die, get him into theater at once!

5. (US) A cinema.

   • We sat in the back row of the theater and threw popcorn at the screen.

6. Drama or performance as a profession or art form.

   • I worked in theater for twenty-five years.

7. Any place rising by steps like the seats of a theater.

8. (figurative, derogatory, often following a noun used attributively) A conspicuous but unproductive display of action.

   • The Senate confirmation hearings were just theater.
   • security theater; hygiene theater