auditorium
Americannoun
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the space set apart for the audience in a theater, school, or other public building.
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a building for public gatherings; hall.
noun
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the area of a concert hall, theatre, school, etc, in which the audience sits
-
a building for public gatherings or meetings
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of auditorium
Explanation
Whenever you check out a concert or a play, you sit in an auditorium — that is, the section of a theater or concert hall reserved for the audience. You can try sitting on the stage, but you'll probably be thrown out. Sometimes auditorium refers to the whole building where performances take place, not just the area for the audience. As the spelling of the word suggests, it's related to the word auditory, meaning "something related to hearing." In fact, auditorium is a Latin term meaning "a place where something is heard," — and of course, as high school and college students know all too well, that can mean lectures as well as concerts or plays.
Vocabulary lists containing auditorium
Common Senses: Aud ("Hear")
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aud
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
After nearly two hours, the residents filed out of the auditorium.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
There were the activists who marched nearly a mile from the burnt-out warehouse to push past security and enter the auditorium, chanting “Shut it down!”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
More than 760 parents signed a petition to preserve the policy, and their frustration spilled into a high-school auditorium on June 15.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
Over on the other side of the auditorium, Barry Hawkins shared the opening six frames of a high-quality contest with Northern Ireland's Mark Allen.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
During school on Wednesday, I scope out how the auditorium will be set up for Thursday evening’s talent show.
From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein
Sheffield Theatres' three auditoria have a total capacity of 2,500 - the same as the National's three venues.
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2021
On comfy seats in big auditoria, writers pretend that the 200 souls in front of them represent the world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2020
The venue has two auditoria - one with 1,200 seats, where Peter Pan is playing, and another with a capacity of 800.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2019
Speaking to packed auditoria and hailed by adoring crowds, he’s been treated more like a movie star than a satirist.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 9, 2014
The auditoria are nearly all badly ventilated, and ill fitted up, the only exceptions being the Theatre Royal at Adelaide, and the Bijou in Melbourne.
From Town Life in Australia by Twopeny, Richard Ernest Nowell
Disney said in its news release that it is a new certification for premium large format theaters and “will signify to audiences which auditoriums offer the biggest, brightest, and most immersive cinematic experiences.”
From Barron's ● May 22, 2026
The permit would cover the Cinerama Dome, 14 adjacent auditoriums and a restaurant café with two outdoor spaces.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
Since premium auditoriums regularly sell out fastest, exhibitors are racing to build more of them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026
Split across two 1,500-seat auditoriums, it will become the capital's biggest theatre by capacity, overtaking the 2,359-seat London Coliseum in the West End.
From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2026
I was selected as valedictorian of my class and assigned to write a paper to be delivered at one of the public auditoriums.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
