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:
Musk’s post shows Anakin, as played by actor Hayden Christensen, sitting on a throne surrounded by his children, Luke and Leia, and his wife, Padme.
From Salon ● Nov. 3, 2026
Harry, the second son of King Charles III and estranged brother of heir to the throne Prince William, married the American Meghan, a former actress, at Windsor Castle in May 2018.
From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026
Hannah Seo investigates why the iconic Concord grape lost its throne.
From Slate ● Oct. 24, 2026
After Duncan is dead, Macbeth worries that his friend Banquo’s line will end up on the throne.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
She pointed at the tarnished throne bearing the letters U-A-L-A.
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
While Price and his colleagues go to take advantage of the open bar, I chat with New York State Young Democrats chief of staff Avi Presberg, 28, upon the restaurant’s lion-headed thrones.
From Slate ● Oct. 20, 2026
Across 58 scenes the British Museum counts 737 animals, 627 figures, 416 plants, 115 swords, 37 ships, 33 buildings, 23 trees, 11 thrones, four sea crossings, two feasts, and the first depiction of Halley’s Comet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
The ceremony then culminated with Mullally being seated in two different thrones.
From Barron's ● Mar. 25, 2026
Warner Bros.’ sale has become the industry’s game of thrones.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 23, 2025
They were like great figures seated upon thrones.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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
They have commanded knights and serfs, taken walled towns and sat throned among their armies.
From Time Magazine Archive
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
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 low when angels fall their black descent, Our primal thunder tells: known is the pain Of music, that nigh throning wisdom went, And one false note cast wailful to the insane.
From Poems — Volume 1 by George Meredith
Don Enrique, returning, told me of it in his room at night, of the Christian service in the mosque and the throning in the Alhambra.
From 1492 by Mary Johnston
Kenric was attired in the same fashion as on the day of his throning, but that he now wore no covering upon his head.
From The Thirsty Sword by Robert Leighton
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
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