noun · verb · 20 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/θiːm/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -iːm (for all senses)
rhymes with -iːmi (for the sense dealing with the Byzantine empire only)
CMU ARPABET:TH IY1 M
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A subject, now especially of a talk or an artistic piece; a topic.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A recurring idea; a motif.
A concept with multiple instantiations.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
variations on the theme of entrepreneurial resourcefulness
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
A recurring idea; a motif.
Any of various colors, or color palettes, in which a design is offered; (graphical user interface) any of various skins for an app, affecting the visuals and perhaps other elements such as sound effects.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
switch to a dark theme to conserve battery power
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: colorway
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
An essay written for school.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: dated
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
The main melody of a piece of music, especially one that is the source of variations.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, music
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
noun
Meaning 6
A song, or a snippet of a song, that identifies a film, a TV program, a character, etc. by playing at the appropriate time.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
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.
Across languages
Translations
168 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
temë
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Arabic:
مَوْضُوع
(mawḍūʕ)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Armenian:
թեմա
(tʻema)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Azerbaijani:
mövzu
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Azerbaijani:
tema
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Belarusian:
тэ́ма
(téma)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Bengali:
বিষয়
(biśoẏ)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Bulgarian:
те́ма
(téma)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Burmese:
အကြောင်း
(a.kraung:)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Catalan:
tema
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Chinese Cantonese:
主題 /主题
(zyu2 tai4)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Chinese Mandarin:
主題 /主题
(zhǔtí)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Chinese Mandarin:
話題 /话题
(huàtí)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Czech:
téma
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Danish:
tema
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Dutch:
thema
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Esperanto:
temo
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Estonian:
teema
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Finnish:
aihe
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
French:
thème
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Galician:
tema
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Georgian:
თემა
(tema)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
German:
Thema
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Greek:
θέμα
(théma)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Ancient Greek:
θέμα
(théma)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Hebrew:
נוֹשֵׂא
(nosé)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Hebrew:
תֵּמָה
(téma)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Hindi:
विषय
(viṣay)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Hindi:
प्रसंग
(prasaṅg)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Hungarian:
téma
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Hungarian:
tárgy
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Icelandic:
þema
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Icelandic:
efni
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Ido:
temo
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Indonesian:
tema
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Irish:
téama
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Irish:
ábhar
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Japanese:
主題
(shudai)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Japanese:
テーマ
(tēma)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Japanese:
話題
(wadai)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Kazakh:
тақырып
(taqyryp)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Kazakh:
тема
(tema)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Khmer:
អង្គសេចក្តី
(ʼɑng sackdəy)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Khmer:
សាច់រឿង
(sac rɨəng)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Khmer:
អត្ថរស
(ʼatthaʼrŭəh)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Korean:
주제
(juje)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Korean:
테마
(tema)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Korean:
쩨마
(jjema)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Korean:
화제
(hwaje)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Northern Kurdish:
mewzû
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Kyrgyz:
тема
(tema)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Lao:
ກະທູ້
(ka thū)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Latvian:
temats
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Lithuanian:
tema
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Luxembourgish:
Thema
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Macedonian:
тема
(tema)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Malay:
tema
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Māori:
marau
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Māori:
kaupapa
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Māori:
tāhuhu
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Mongolian:
сэдэв
(sedev)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Norwegian Bokmål:
tema
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Old English:
andtimber
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Pashto:
موضوع
(mawzo')
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Dari:
مَوضُوع
(mawzū')
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Iranian Persian:
مُوضوع
(mowzu')
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Iranian Persian:
تِم
(tem)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Polish:
temat
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Portuguese:
tema
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Romanian:
temă
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Romansh:
tema
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Russian:
те́ма
(téma)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Sanskrit:
विषय
(viṣaya)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Serbo-Croatian:
те́ма
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Serbo-Croatian:
téma
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Slovak:
téma
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Slovene:
tema
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Spanish:
tema
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Spanish:
temática
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Swedish:
tema
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Tagalog:
tema
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Tajik:
мавзӯъ
(mavzü')
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Tajik:
тема
(tema)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Thai:
กระทู้
(grà-túu)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Turkish:
ana konu
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Turkish:
tema
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Turkish:
mevzu
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Ottoman Turkish:
موضوع
(mevzuʼ)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Ottoman Turkish:
بحث
(bahs, bahis)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Ottoman Turkish:
مبحث
(mebhas)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Turkmen:
tema
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Turkmen:
mowzuk
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Ukrainian:
те́ма
(téma)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Urdu:
مَوضُوع
(mauzū')
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Uyghur:
ماۋزۇ
(mawzu)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Uzbek:
mavzu
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Uzbek:
tema
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Vietnamese:
chủ đề
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Yiddish:
טעמע
(teme)
— subject of a talk or an artistic piece
Finnish:
teema
— recurring idea
Finnish:
aihe
— recurring idea
German:
Motiv
— recurring idea
Hungarian:
motívum
— recurring idea
Japanese:
主題
(shudai)
— recurring idea
Māori:
tāhuhu
— recurring idea
Māori:
tāhū
— recurring idea
Portuguese:
tema
— recurring idea
Romanian:
temă
— recurring idea
Russian:
те́ма
(téma)
— recurring idea
Russian:
моти́в
(motív)
— recurring idea
Spanish:
tema
— recurring idea
Spanish:
temática
— recurring idea
Bulgarian:
те́ма
(téma)
— music: main melody of a piece of music
Catalan:
tema
— music: main melody of a piece of music
Chinese Mandarin:
主旋律
(zhǔxuánlǜ)
— music: main melody of a piece of music
Chinese Mandarin:
主題 /主题
(zhǔtí)
— music: main melody of a piece of music
Finnish:
teema
— music: main melody of a piece of music
German:
Thema
— music: main melody of a piece of music
Greek:
θέμα
(théma)
— music: main melody of a piece of music
Hungarian:
téma
— music: main melody of a piece of music
Hungarian:
motívum
— music: main melody of a piece of music
Icelandic:
stef
— music: main melody of a piece of music
Icelandic:
tema
— music: main melody of a piece of music
Icelandic:
þema
— music: main melody of a piece of music
Ido:
temato
— music: main melody of a piece of music
Irish:
téama
— music: main melody of a piece of music
Māori:
tāhuhu
— music: main melody of a piece of music
Māori:
tāhū
— music: main melody of a piece of music
Portuguese:
tema
— music: main melody of a piece of music
Romanian:
temă
— music: main melody of a piece of music
Russian:
те́ма
(téma)
— music: main melody of a piece of music
Spanish:
tema
— music: main melody of a piece of music
German:
Theme
— computing: collection of color schemes, sounds, artwork etc.
Hebrew:
ערכת נושא
(erkát nosé)
— computing: collection of color schemes, sounds, artwork etc.
Hungarian:
téma
— computing: collection of color schemes, sounds, artwork etc.
Italian:
tema
— computing: collection of color schemes, sounds, artwork etc.
Japanese:
テーマ
(tēma)
— computing: collection of color schemes, sounds, artwork etc.
Korean:
테마
(tema)
— computing: collection of color schemes, sounds, artwork etc.
Polish:
kompozycja
— computing: collection of color schemes, sounds, artwork etc.
Polish:
motyw
— computing: collection of color schemes, sounds, artwork etc.
Portuguese:
tema
— computing: collection of color schemes, sounds, artwork etc.
Russian:
те́ма
(téma)
— computing: collection of color schemes, sounds, artwork etc.
Swedish:
tema
— computing: collection of color schemes, sounds, artwork etc.
Ukrainian:
те́ма
(téma)
— computing: collection of color schemes, sounds, artwork etc.
Bulgarian:
осно́ва
(osnóva)
— grammar: stem of a word
Finnish:
vartalo
— grammar: stem of a word
German:
Stamm
— grammar: stem of a word
German:
Wortstamm
— grammar: stem of a word
Greek:
θέμα
(théma)
— grammar: stem of a word
Portuguese:
tema
— grammar: stem of a word
Romanian:
temă
— grammar: stem of a word
Russian:
осно́ва
(osnóva)
— grammar: stem of a word
Russian:
ко́рень
(kórenʹ)
— grammar: stem of a word
Spanish:
tema
— grammar: stem of a word
Icelandic:
þema
— linguistics: theta role in generative grammar and government and binding theory
Finnish:
aihe
— linguistics: topic, what is generally being talked about
Finnish:
puheenaihe
— linguistics: topic, what is generally being talked about
German:
Thema
— linguistics: topic, what is generally being talked about
Greek:
θέμα
(théma)
— linguistics: topic, what is generally being talked about
Hungarian:
téma
— linguistics: topic, what is generally being talked about
Māori:
tāhuhu
— linguistics: topic, what is generally being talked about
Spanish:
tema
— linguistics: topic, what is generally being talked about
Catalan:
tema
— regional unit of organisation in the Byzantine empire
Georgian:
თემი
(temi)
— regional unit of organisation in the Byzantine empire
Greek:
θέμα
(théma)
— regional unit of organisation in the Byzantine empire
Hungarian:
thema
— regional unit of organisation in the Byzantine empire
Romanian:
temă
— regional unit of organisation in the Byzantine empire
Spanish:
thema
— regional unit of organisation in the Byzantine empire
