anthem

American  

[an-thuhm] / ˈæn θəm /

noun

• anthems
  plural

1. a song, as of praise, devotion, or patriotism.

   the national anthem of Spain; our college anthem.

2. a piece of sacred vocal music, usually with words taken from the Scriptures.

3. a hymn sung alternately by different sections of a choir or congregation.

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verb (used with object)

1. to celebrate with or in an anthem.

anthem British  

/ ˈænθəm /

noun

1. a song of loyalty or devotion, as to a nation or college

   a national anthem

2. a musical composition for a choir, usually set to words from the Bible, sung as part of a church service

3. a religious chant sung antiphonally

4. a popular rock or pop song

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• anthemic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• anthems
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of anthem

First recorded before 1000; Middle English antem, Old English antemn(e), antefne, from Late Latin antefana, antiphōna (feminine singular), from Greek antíphōna ( see antiphon); spelling with h probably by association with hymn, with pronunciation then changed to reflect spelling

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Explanation

Rousing, reverential, sometimes even revolutionary, an anthem is a song that represents the ideals of a group of people. Anthem comes from Old English antefn. The original word meant a song sung antiphonally, or in turns by two groups of singers. Today, anthem has little to do with the way the vocals are arranged and more to do with the content of the message. When a group of people sing an anthem, whether it’s the national anthem, or the anthem of your third-grader’s beetle-collecting club, they express their devotion to a cause they identify with.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

anthem anthems

The room pounds their fists on the tables to the bridge of Metallica’s “One,” a harrowing anthem about the horrors of war.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

Lewis-Michelson has the résumé you’d expect of a finalist: She sang the national anthem at Fenway Park when she was 12, and reviews Dunkin’ drinks in her free time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026

"I will let you keep ice hockey, and I will let you keep your 'O Canada' national anthem," he promised before adding: "We're only kidding."

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

Her students have taken to singing La Marseillaise, the French national anthem, in protest.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

The national anthem played on cassette decks, competing with the honking of cars.

From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini

Glitches have continued at the ongoing Para Games, where the wrong national anthems were played at three events.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

The noise built through the warm-ups, in the tunnel and during the anthems, until, finally, Haaland emerged into the blazing sunshine and took a long blue-eyed stare across the pitch at the five-time world champions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Brass bands pound out songs and pop anthems with thumping beats such as Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” and Robbie Williams’ “Angels” as thousands of voices roar along.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026

Take a bite out of history: In Part 2 of its series on McGruff the Crime Dog, Slate’s Decoder Ring podcast asks the question: Did a trench-coat-wearing dog’s catchy anti-drug anthems actually work?

From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026

I have no praise anthems, nor old Negro spirituals.

From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates

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Related Words

• chant
• chorus
• hymn
• melody

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