theme
Americannoun
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a subject of discourse, discussion, meditation, or composition; topic.
The need for world peace was the theme of the meeting.
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a unifying or dominant idea, motif, etc., as in a work of art.
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a short, informal essay, especially a school composition.
- Synonyms:
- paper
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Music.
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a principal melodic subject in a musical composition.
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a short melodic subject from which variations are developed.
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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.
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Linguistics. topic.
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Also an administrative division of the Byzantine Empire.
adjective
verb (used with object)
noun
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an idea or topic expanded in a discourse, discussion, etc
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(in literature, music, art, etc) a unifying idea, image, or motif, repeated or developed throughout a work
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music a group of notes forming a recognizable melodic unit, often used as the basis of the musical material in a composition
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a short essay, esp one set as an exercise for a student
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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
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(in the Byzantine Empire) a territorial unit consisting of several provinces under a military commander
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(modifier) planned or designed round one unifying subject, image, etc
a theme holiday
verb
Synonym Usage
See subject.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of theme
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English teme, theme (from Old French teme ), from Medieval Latin thema, Latin, from Greek théma “proposition, deposit,” akin to tithénai “to put, set down”
Explanation
A theme can be an underlying topic of a discussion or a recurring idea in an artistic work. Anxiety about getting married is a big theme in romantic comedies. From ancient Greek thema (via Latin and French) we get this word, whose many related uses all have to do with the idea of "the main subject of something." In music, it can be a recurring melody in a composition, or an entire song throughout a play or film (a theme song). It can also describe the decor of a setting: "The amusement park had a Wild West theme."
Vocabulary lists containing theme
PARCC: Language of the Test (Grade7)
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Vocabulary of the Common Core
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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 theme park has made outreach into the neighborhood over the years in an attempt to assuage concerns, be it distributing fliers or attending community meetings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
The trio epitomise excellence in their respective fields - reflecting the album's overarching theme of art, excellence and immortality.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
But the most important theme in the PCA report isn’t a direct repudiation of Christian nationalism but an affirmation of religious liberty.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
The market pain will always be much worse when your entire portfolio depends on the same theme.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
I gave Paul the sign and he played the first parts of “Cielito Lindo” and “When the Saints Go Marching In,” the school’s theme song.
From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez
It is also targeting more specialist hedge funds focused on particular themes or industries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Friedkin’s movie shifted people’s perceptions about fear and played with longstanding ideas about the nuclear family and religious ideology, themes that were starting to be contested and debated as America moved further from ’50s-era sterility.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
With his supporters lining the street, he repeated key themes from the speech announcing his resignation in June, such as turning around the fortunes of the Labour Party and lowering child poverty.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
With norteño-sax, the group could incorporate contemporary dating themes into songs that bring people physically closer to one another on the dance floor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Or is there a kind of cosmic fugue, with themes and counterpoints, dissonances and harmonies, a billion different voices playing the life music of the Galaxy?
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Sixteen themed display cases line a square room with a pair of long cases at its center.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
The prize: A red Coca-Cola themed scarf or baseball cap.
From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026
These might include karaoke nights, themed bingo happy hours, and raves, often thrown with well-respected collectives.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
He said the couple had already got to know those involved in Gavin and Stacey themed tours around Barry - including Dave's Coaches.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
That month the Nazi Party staged its seventh annual rally at Nuremberg, themed, with staggering irony, the Rally for Freedom.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Iwekrs is more interested in showing us the race against time, especially for a park that deviated from the light theming and simple rides of amusement parks of the era.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2026
After getting business interest approval - which lets an employee pursue other lines of work outside their job - she began "creating and theming party tents".
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2024
Hobby Lobby, an Oklahoma-based chain of big-box craft stores, is famous for its Christian theming.
From Salon ● Feb. 4, 2023
The pangrams from yesterday’s Spelling Bee were nighttime and theming.
From New York Times ● Jul. 25, 2022
Android 13’s first preview launched in February, showing off a new theming option and a system-wide photo picker.
From The Verge ● Mar. 17, 2022
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.