theme

American  

[theem] / θim /

noun

• themes
  plural

1. a subject of discourse, discussion, meditation, or composition; topic.

   The need for world peace was the theme of the meeting.

   Synonyms:

   text, thesis

2. a unifying or dominant idea, motif, etc., as in a work of art.

3. a short, informal essay, especially a school composition.

   Synonyms:

   paper

4. Music.

   1. a principal melodic subject in a musical composition.

   2. a short melodic subject from which variations are developed.

5. Grammar. the element common to all or most of the forms of an inflectional paradigm, often consisting of a root with certain formative elements or modifications.

6. Linguistics. topic.

7. Also an administrative division of the Byzantine Empire.

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adjective

1. having a unifying theme.

   a theme restaurant decorated like a spaceship.

verb (used with object)

themed, theming

1. to provide with a theme.

theme British  

/ θiːm /

noun

1. an idea or topic expanded in a discourse, discussion, etc

2. (in literature, music, art, etc) a unifying idea, image, or motif, repeated or developed throughout a work

3. music a group of notes forming a recognizable melodic unit, often used as the basis of the musical material in a composition

4. a short essay, esp one set as an exercise for a student

5. linguistics the first major constituent of a sentence, usually but not necessarily the subject. In the sentence history I do like, "history" is the theme of the sentence, even though it is the object of the verb

6. grammar another word for root 1 stem 1

7. (in the Byzantine Empire) a territorial unit consisting of several provinces under a military commander

8. (modifier) planned or designed round one unifying subject, image, etc

   a theme holiday

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verb

1. (tr) to design, decorate, arrange, etc, in accordance with a theme

theme Cultural  

1. A central idea in a piece of writing or other work of art: “The theme of desperation is found throughout his novels.” Also a short composition assigned to a student as a writing exercise.

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Synonym Usage

See subject.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subtheme
  noun
• themeless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• themes
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of theme

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English teme, theme (from Old French teme ), from Medieval Latin thema, Latin, from Greek théma “proposition, deposit,” akin to tithénai “to put, set down”

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Explanation

A theme can be an underlying topic of a discussion or a recurring idea in an artistic work. Anxiety about getting married is a big theme in romantic comedies. From ancient Greek thema (via Latin and French) we get this word, whose many related uses all have to do with the idea of "the main subject of something." In music, it can be a recurring melody in a composition, or an entire song throughout a play or film (a theme song). It can also describe the decor of a setting: "The amusement park had a Wild West theme."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

theme themes themed theming

Picking Stevie Wonder’s “Living for the City” as a campaign theme song despite its stark lyrics of urban despair.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

Three months ago he posted a "letter for chefs" with the theme "respecting the ingredients".

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

The hand-drawn theme pays off even more in the current environment, Lieberman suggested.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

"None of this necessarily breaks the long-term AI theme, but it can raise the hurdle rate for investment," he said.

From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026

And this highlights a theme that runs through almost every Soviet female soldier’s story of the Great Patriotic War: War is gendered, and it is not feminine.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

The first involved a “barbell” portfolio of semiconductor names and energy stocks, with barbell referring to a strategy of investing in two separate themes.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026

Inside his new thriller, those themes collide under the fluorescent glare of LAX.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026

Warning: This article contains themes and images some readers may find upsetting.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

Mr. Berge uses these stories to illustrate one of his recurring themes: What disgusts in one context can delight in another.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

Reading was for me the key to ‘knowledge’; I swallowed facts and dates and names and themes.

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez

TT Rockstars, which allows children to compete with their classmates for virtual coins and rock-star themed characters and outfits, is widely used by schools for maths homework.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

Norwegian Cruise Line, which hosted the Hallmark cruise on the 4,000-passenger Norwegian Joy, offers about two dozen themed cruises a year through its Sixthman subsidiary.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

Theater operators have seen brisk sales of snacks, popcorn, and limited-edition movie themed merchandise.

From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2026

For this bookstore is also concealing a speakeasy of sorts, a secluded cafe and bar with multiple themed spaces and a two-story tree with glowing books growing out of its branches.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

Where most kids want themed birthday parties at chain restaurants, Bren always wants Abuela’s legendary arroz con polio and La Cocina’s famous homemade mint juice.

From "The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora" by Pablo Cartaya

Iwerks is more interested in showing us the race against time, especially for a park that deviated from the light theming and simple rides of amusement parks of the era.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2026

"We have moved away from original plans in terms of the décor in the venue and are theming it more on classic movie horror characters," he told BBC Radio 4's Women's Hour programme.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2023

Hobby Lobby, an Oklahoma-based chain of big-box craft stores, is famous for its Christian theming.

From Salon ● Feb. 4, 2023

The pangrams from yesterday’s Spelling Bee were nighttime and theming.

From New York Times ● Jul. 25, 2022

The new features include upgraded theming options and privacy features, new language controls, and, of course, plenty of back-end updates.

From The Verge ● Feb. 10, 2022

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Related Words

• argument
• line
• matter
• motif
• point
• problem
• question
• stuff
• subject
• text
• thought
• topic

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