theme
Americannoun
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themes
plural
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a subject of discourse, discussion, meditation, or composition; topic.
The need for world peace was the theme of the meeting.
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a unifying or dominant idea, motif, etc., as in a work of art.
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a short, informal essay, especially a school composition.
- Synonyms:
- paper
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Music.
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a principal melodic subject in a musical composition.
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a short melodic subject from which variations are developed.
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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.
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Linguistics. topic.
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Also an administrative division of the Byzantine Empire.
adjective
verb (used with object)
noun
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an idea or topic expanded in a discourse, discussion, etc
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(in literature, music, art, etc) a unifying idea, image, or motif, repeated or developed throughout a work
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music a group of notes forming a recognizable melodic unit, often used as the basis of the musical material in a composition
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a short essay, esp one set as an exercise for a student
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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
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(in the Byzantine Empire) a territorial unit consisting of several provinces under a military commander
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(modifier) planned or designed round one unifying subject, image, etc
a theme holiday
verb
Synonym Usage
See subject.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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”
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."
Vocabulary lists containing theme
PARCC: Language of the Test (Grade7)
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Vocabulary of the Common Core
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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:
Hand-wringing over unusually high and rising profit margins has been a recurring theme among some more pessimistic strategists over the years, but it seems timely.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
We made a song with DJ Flict — who produced it — Kid Ink and myself as a theme song for the team and it just so happened that they won the Cup that year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
Questions over whether the UK should apologise and pay reparations for its role in the transatlantic slave trade were a theme of the visit.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
In commentary published Wednesday, Citrini Research, a popular independent shop that was early to the AI theme, declared that the “end of the AI trade as we know it” had probably arrived.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026
Every year, I set up a theme for us.
From "Keep It Together, Keiko Carter" by Debbi Michiko Florence
The team highlighted a mix of Iran risks, inflation, the development of credit issues and peaking artificial-intelligence capital expenditure as themes the markets must negotiate.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026
The pair, infatuated with Kraftwerk, Afro-futurism and acid-fried psych rock, retrofitted Detroit funk in the post-disco era with rigorous synthesizers and science-fiction themes on tracks like 1981’s “Alleys of Your Mind.”
From Los Angeles Times ● 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
The main themes of the two-day state visit to Guyana will be the environment and sustainability - alongside the growing commercial ties between the UK and Guyana.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
His themes were not pride and love at all, though he used the words perpetually; as he used them they meant self-praise and hate.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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
Plenty of people are brewing themed cocktails to celebrate Halloween, but too often these drinks wind up as tricks instead of treats.
From Slate ● Oct. 30, 2026
Theater operators have seen brisk sales of snacks, popcorn, and limited-edition movie themed merchandise.
From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2026
Some doors remain closed, and others flash their themed interiors.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
He was looking for a mix of food, entertainment and theming.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2025
"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
An actual rainbow arched over the park’s thunder-shower-soaked parking lot as the sun set, prompting several attendees to joke that Disney had outdone itself with Pride theming this year.
From New York Times ● Jun. 10, 2022
Android 13’s first preview launched in February, showing off a new theming option and a system-wide photo picker.
From The Verge ● Mar. 17, 2022
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