1. A building where theatrical performances or motion-picture shows can be presented
   "the theatre was full";
   - theater [US], house
    
2. The art of writing and producing plays
   "Her study of theatre helped her create more compelling theatrical productions";
   - dramaturgy, dramatic art, dramatics, theater [US]
    
3. [Brit] A room in a hospital equipped for the performance of surgical operations
   "The team of surgeons gathered in the operating theatre to begin the complex procedure";
   - operating room [N. Amer], OR [N. Amer], operating theater [US], operating theatre, surgery
    
4. (military) a region in which active military operations are in progress
   "he served in the Vietnam theatre for three years"; "the army was in the theatre of operations awaiting action";
   - field, field of operations, theater [US], theater of operations [US], theatre of operations

1. A highly successful theatrical production
   "The new Broadway musical was hailed as a coup de théâtre"
    
2. A sensational bit of stagecraft
   "The sudden reveal of the murderer was a coup de théâtre that left the audience gasping"
    
3. A dramatic surprise
   "The revelation of the killer's identity was a true coup de théâtre in the play"

Derived forms: theatres

Type of: building, communicating, communication, edifice, hospital room, region, stagecraft, staging, surprise, theatrical production, turn-up [Brit, informal]

Part of: production, theater of war [US], theatre of war

Encyclopedia: Theatre