parterre
Americannoun
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Also called parquet circle. the rear section of seats, and sometimes also the side sections, of the main floor of a theater, concert hall, or opera house.
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an ornamental arrangement of flower beds of different shapes and sizes.
noun
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a formally patterned flower garden
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the pit in a theatre
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another name for parquet circle
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of parterre
1630–40; < French, noun use of phrase par terre on the ground. See per, terra
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.
Mills explained that the original parterre - which is a French word meaning 'on the ground' - had been constructed in 1705, and would have "cost an absolute fortune to install".
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
The proscenium has been removed entirely and the stage brought forward 25 feet, fitted with flexible risers and parterre seating.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 6, 2022
Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine's ambassador to the United Nations, was introduced from the parterre level and received a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of about 3,600.
From Fox News ● Mar. 15, 2022
“It’s this little diamond shape with a zigzag little parterre and it’s infilled with plants _ many of which are roses.”
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 25, 2020
The “pigeon house” stood behind a locked gate, and a shallow parterre that had been somewhat neglected.
From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin
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.
