English dictionary

theme Meaning & Definition

Q: What is the past tense of theme?

The past tense of theme is themed. The present participle is theming.

/θiːm/

What Does Theme Mean?

Theme is a noun that means A subject, now especially of a talk or an artistic piece; a topic. It is also used to mean A recurring idea; a motif. A concept with multiple instantiations. As a verb, it means To give a theme to.

Theme in Brief

Part of speech	noun, verb
Pronunciation	/θiːm/
Synonyms	base, subject and radical
Plural	themes
Verb forms	themes, theming, themed

Theme Definition (Noun)

A subject, now especially of a talk or an artistic piece; a topic.
A recurring idea; a motif. A concept with multiple instantiations.
variations on the theme of entrepreneurial resourcefulness
A concept with multiple instantiations.
variations on the theme of entrepreneurial resourcefulness
Any of various colors, or color palettes, in which a design is offered; any of various skins for an app, affecting the visuals and perhaps other elements such as sound effects.
switch to a dark theme to conserve battery power
An essay written for school.
The main melody of a piece of music, especially one that is the source of variations.
A song, or a snippet of a song, that identifies a film, a TV program, a character, etc. by playing at the appropriate time.
An additional puzzle within the crossword, typically involving a set of non-standard clues or answers.
The stem of a word.
Thematic relation of a noun phrase to a verb.
Theta role in generative grammar and government and binding theory.
Topic, what is generally being talked about.
A regional unit of organisation in the Byzantine empire.

Theme as a Verb

To give a theme to.
We themed the birthday party around superheroes.
To apply a theme to; to change the visual appearance and/or layout of (software).

Noun

A subject of a talk or an artistic piece; a topic.
A recurring idea; a motif.
The collection of color schemes, sounds, artwork etc., that "skin" an environment towards a particular motif.
(grammar) The stem of a word.
Topic, what is generally being talked about, as opposed to rheme.

Synonyms of Theme

base subject radical idea composition motif report stem root topic paperroot wordmusical theme melodic theme

Theme synonyms and antonyms →

Theme in a Sentence

variations on the theme of entrepreneurial resourcefulness

switch to a dark theme to conserve battery power

We themed the birthday party around superheroes.

Word Forms & Grammar

theme (plural themes)

theme (third-person singular simple present themes, present participle theming, simple past and past participle themed)

Words That Rhyme With Theme

gleam beam esteem scheme cream stream dream passim scream team daydream regime pipe dream extreme redeem wet dream teem seem fleam episteme queme steam steem agleam rheme seam ream mainstream bream breme

Origin of Theme

From Middle English teme, from Old French teme, tesme (French thème), from Latin thema, from Ancient Greek θέμα (théma), from τίθημι (títhēmi, “to put, place”), reduplicative from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to put, place, do”) (whence also English do). Doublet of thema.

Theme: Your Questions Answered

Is theme a noun or a verb?

Theme is mainly used as a noun, but it can also be used as a verb.

What is another word for theme?

You can replace theme with words such as base, subject and radical. See the full list of theme synonyms and antonyms.