Theater or Theatre? And Why It Means a Room in a Hospital
A theatre is a place for performances. The spelling splits the Atlantic, and the word also names an operating room and an area of war.
A theatre is a building for performances. Spelling divides: theatre in Britain, theater in America, though American companies often keep the -re in their names. Two other senses have nothing to do with drama: an *operating theatre*, where students once watched from tiers, and a *theatre of war*, an area of military operations.
- A place for performances. *A West End theatre.*
- Drama as an art. *A life in the theatre.*
- An operating room (British). *Taken to theatre.*
- An area of military operations. *The Pacific theatre.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun (UK) | theatre | A local theatre. |
| Noun (US) | theater | A movie theater. |
| Adjective | theatrical | A theatrical gesture. |
| Adverb | theatrically | Theatrically staged. |
| Related | amphitheatre | A Roman amphitheatre. |
How it is used in a sentence
- We are going to the theatre.British, meaning a play.
- She was taken to theatre at midnight.Hospital.
- The European theatre of the war.Military.
Parts of a theatre
- Stalls — the ground-floor seats
- Circle — the tier above, sometimes dress circle
- Gallery or gods — the highest and cheapest
- Wings — the offstage sides
- Fly tower — the space above the stage for hanging scenery
From Greek *theatron*, a place for viewing, from *theasthai*, to behold. The same root gives *theory*, which originally meant contemplation or looking at.
Theatre or theater?
Theatre in Britain and much of the Commonwealth; theater in America, where many venues still use the -re spelling in their names.
Are theatre and theory related?
Yes. Both come from Greek words for looking and contemplating. A theory was originally a way of viewing something.