EnglishMain Dictionary
theatre
Universal Words
(BrE) (AmE theater) noun
1 [C] a building or an outdoor area where plays and similar types of entertainment are performed:
West End / Broadway theatres * an open-air theatre * How often do you go to the theatre?
seealsoLECTURETHEATRE
2 [C] (AmE) = CINEMA
3 [U] plays considered as entertainment:
an evening of live music and theatre * (BrE) I like music, theatre and cinema. * current ideas about what makes good theatre (= what makes good entertainment when performed)
4 [U] (also the theatre [sing.]) the work of writing, producing and acting in plays:
I want to work in theatre. * He was essentially a man of the theatre.
5 [C,U] (BrE) = OPERATINGTHEATRE:
a theatre sister (= a nurse who helps during operations) * He's still in theatre.
6 [C,usually sing.] ~ (of war, etc.) (formal) the place in which a war or fighting takes place:
an intelligence officer in the Pacific theatre
