throne
Americannoun
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thrones
plural
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the chair or seat occupied by a sovereign, bishop, or other exalted personage on ceremonial occasions, usually raised on a dais and covered with a canopy.
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the office or dignity of a sovereign.
He came to the throne by succession.
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the occupant of a throne; sovereign.
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sovereign power or authority.
to address one's pleas to the throne.
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an episcopal office or authority.
the diocesan throne.
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thrones, an order of angels.
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Facetious. a toilet.
verb (used with or without object)
noun
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the ceremonial seat occupied by a monarch, bishop, etc on occasions of state
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the power, duties, or rank ascribed to a royal person
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a person holding royal rank
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(plural; often capital) the third of the nine orders into which the angels are traditionally divided in medieval angelology
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of throne
1175–1225; Middle English < Latin thronus < Greek thrónos high seat; replacing Middle English trone < Old French < Latin, as above
Explanation
The oversized, bejeweled chair on which a king or queen sits is called a throne. Monarchs — kings and queens — sit on thrones on special ceremonial occasions, and so do religious figures such as bishops and popes. You can also describe the act of naming a new monarch this way: "Queen Elizabeth II of England was throned in 1952." The word throne has its root in the Greek thronos, "chair or elevated seat." In ancient Greek mythology, Zeus was said to sit on a special heavenly seat, the Dios thronous.
Vocabulary lists containing throne
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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:
"I appeal to those fighting over the throne: please, there will be time for all of that," she said.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
Another royal, UK-based Prince George Desmond Kamurasi, was initially considered for the throne but declined, citing other responsibilities, according to the succession committee.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
The late King Harald, a popular, modernising figure who had been on the Norwegian throne for 35 years, died last month at the age of 89.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
Harry reportedly remains estranged from Prince William, his brother and heir to the throne, and William's wife Catherine.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
Sand swirled gently as I spoke, spinning into pillars, walls, and waterfalls, until a small replica of the throne room appeared in front of us.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
The ceremony then culminated with Mullally being seated in two different thrones.
From Barron's ● Mar. 25, 2026
On Friday Netflix aced out Paramount Skydance and Comcast to win this game of media thrones.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
Foo Fighters fired its new drummer Josh Freese this year, just two years into his tenure behind one of the most coveted thrones in rock following the death of Taylor Hawkins in 2022.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2025
As the noise and colour of a two-month election campaign subsides, a game of thrones between the two most powerful families in the Philippines resumes.
From BBC ● May 13, 2025
Twelve giant empty thrones stood in a U around a hearth.
From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan
A hoarder of women, art, antiquities — and most of all, money — Getty also might have taken issue with Portia’s claim that mercy “becomes the throned monarch better than his crown.”
From New York Times ● Dec. 24, 2017
So Blatter is seeking to be throned for another four years as Fifa big cheese at the elections to be held in June.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 22, 2011
The spectacle of John L. Lewis on Organized Labor's pinnacle, throned on Coal and crowned with Steel, is not fantastic.
From Time Magazine Archive
They have commanded knights and serfs, taken walled towns and sat throned among their armies.
From Time Magazine Archive
A kingdom where kings are throned and dethroned daily.
From "Look Both Ways" by Jason Reynolds
These kings sought to crown that semi-barbarous occupation of North Italy during two centuries by throning themselves in Rome, and making the Pope their vassal.
From The Formation of Christendom, Volume VII by Thomas W. Allies
How heartily she rained them on the Tuileries and the majesty of the imperial court, throning on high above an abject and trembling people.
From Four Short Stories By Emile Zola by Émile Zola
Frederic, though great in royal throning, Well may amaze the earth, and heaven, When clothed by thunder and the levin Swerves he before the hero's fanfare.
From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern — Volume 4 by Hamilton Wright Mabie
On every side, where'er he came, He heard glad words, their theme the same, As in their joy the gathered folk Of Ráma and the throning spoke.
From The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by Ralph T. H. (Ralph Thomas Hotchkin) Griffith
Those preparations check with speed, Nor let my throning rites proceed.
From The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by Ralph T. H. (Ralph Thomas Hotchkin) Griffith
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.
