theme song
Americannoun
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theme songs
plural
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a melody in an operetta or musical comedy so emphasized by repetition as to dominate the presentation.
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a melody identifying or identified with a radio or television program, dance band, etc., usually played at the beginning of each program.
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an expression, comment, or subject of conversation that a person or group uses habitually.
noun
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a melody used, esp in a film score, to set a mood, introduce a character, etc
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another term for signature tune
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of theme song
An Americanism dating back to 1925–30
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.
Beyond shifting from a multi-cam comedy to single-cam and Brandy’s changed-up theme song, this “Different World” succeeds by maintaining a wonderfully familiar energy… like coming back home.
From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026
In 1980, Dolly Parton was filming her first Hollywood movie, 9 To 5, and between scenes she had an idea for the tune that would become the movie's theme song.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
In 1977 she sang "Nobody Does it Better," the popular James Bond theme song from "The Spy Who Loved Me."
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
They included bricks that would play snatches of the iconic theme song and emit coin-collecting sound effects as Mario characters moved around.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
She sat down at her piano and began to play “Moon River,” and then she switched to the theme song from one of those new vampire movies.
From "Out of My Mind" by Sharon M. Draper
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.
