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:
The Norman Conquest has traditionally been viewed largely as a dynastic crisis that followed the death of Edward the Confessor, with competing claimants fighting for control of the English throne.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
The opening-night audience erupted in cheers when the iron throne emerged from the stage floor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
He had only recently come to the throne and had turned 21 shortly before the siege of Constantinople began.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
"Do you know about the goddess phones?" she asked, sitting down in what she called her "throne" next to a collection of bejewelled old-fashioned telephones.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 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
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
Two thrones also used for props are up for sale.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 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
Hizdahr’s grotesque dragon thrones had been removed at Ser Barristan’s command, but he had not brought back the simple pillowed bench the queen had favored.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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
Thus toward that throning bosom Where all earth is warmed,—each spot Nourished with autumnal blessings - Icy chill was Daphne caught.
From Poems — Volume 1 by George Meredith
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
My banishment to-day will free Kaikeyí from her cares, that she, At last contented and elate, May Bharat's throning celebrate.
From The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by Ralph T. H. (Ralph Thomas Hotchkin) Griffith
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
The king and queen, my lady dear, Touching the throning, for my sake Some salutary counsel take.
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.
