throne

American  

[throhn] / θroʊn /

noun

1. 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.

2. the office or dignity of a sovereign.

   He came to the throne by succession.

3. the occupant of a throne; sovereign.

4. sovereign power or authority.

   to address one's pleas to the throne.

5. an episcopal office or authority.

   the diocesan throne.

6. mourners' bench.

7. thrones, an order of angels.

8. Facetious. a toilet.

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verb (used with or without object)

throned, throning

1. to sit on or as on a throne.

throne British  

/ θrəʊn /

noun

1. the ceremonial seat occupied by a monarch, bishop, etc on occasions of state

2. the power, duties, or rank ascribed to a royal person

3. a person holding royal rank

4. (plural; often capital) the third of the nine orders into which the angels are traditionally divided in medieval angelology

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verb

1. to place or be placed on a throne

throne Idioms  

1. see power behind the throne.

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Other Word Forms

• throneless adjective

Etymology

Origin of throne

1175–1225; Middle English < Latin thronus < Greek thrónos high seat; replacing Middle English trone < Old French < Latin, as above

Example Sentences

Guns N’ Roses reunited for the festival, where singer Axl Rose performed from a throne after breaking his foot at a warm-up show at the Troubadour a week before.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2026

Queen Elizabeth was on the throne, Boris Johnson was in Number Ten and we were still living two metres apart with pandemic restrictions.

From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026

Reza Pahlavi, the eldest son of the last shah of Iran and pretender to the throne, was a scheduled speaker, and the event was packed with Iranian monarchists.

From Slate • Mar. 27, 2026

The former midwife was formally installed in the historic ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral in southeast England in front of around 2,000 people including heir to the throne Prince William and his wife Catherine.

From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026

Their path through the castle took them from the opulence outside the throne room into gradually less grand areas.

From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack