theme
a subject of discourse, discussion, meditation, or composition; topic: The need for world peace was the theme of the meeting.
a unifying or dominant idea, motif, etc., as in a work of art.
a short, informal essay, especially a school composition.
Music.
a principal melodic subject in a musical composition.
a short melodic subject from which variations are developed.
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.: Compare stem1 (def. 16).
Linguistics. topic (def. 4).
Also thema. an administrative division of the Byzantine Empire.
having a unifying theme: a theme restaurant decorated like a spaceship.
to provide with a theme.
Origin of theme
1synonym study For theme
Other words for theme
Other words from theme
- themeless, adjective
- subtheme, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use theme in a sentence
So those themes, as you understood, are driven into a better world.
Leveraging collective intelligence and AI to benefit society | Jason Sparapani | November 18, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewTwo additional themes made the list of progressing towards a cyborg future.
In August, Anheuser-Busch posted a splashy job listing looking to bring on three creatives to make “fire” Bud Lite Seltzer-themed image macros.
Hill may prefer to call his entrees “meat and three,” in keeping with the Southern theme, but several of his mains are barbecue in everything but name.
The county’s holiday colors should really be yellow and red because that’s the theme carried by water quality warnings pockmarking the coast from Oceanside to Imperial Beach via San Diego County’s beach test results site.
Environment Report: Coastal Neighborhoods Supported Measure E Least | MacKenzie Elmer | November 9, 2020 | Voice of San Diego
British Dictionary definitions for theme
/ (θiːm) /
an idea or topic expanded in a discourse, discussion, etc
(in literature, music, art, etc) a unifying idea, image, or motif, repeated or developed throughout a work
music a group of notes forming a recognizable melodic unit, often used as the basis of the musical material in a composition
a short essay, esp one set as an exercise for a student
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
grammar another word for root 1 (def. 9), stem 1 (def. 9)
(in the Byzantine Empire) a territorial unit consisting of several provinces under a military commander
(modifier) planned or designed round one unifying subject, image, etc: a theme holiday
(tr) to design, decorate, arrange, etc, in accordance with a theme
Origin of theme
1Derived forms of theme
- themeless, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for theme
A central idea in a piece of writing or other work of art: “The theme of desperation is found throughout his novels.” Also a short composition assigned to a student as a writing exercise.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse