Adjacent Words

auditorium definitions

	Tweet

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the area of a theater or concert hall where the audience sits

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural -riums or auditoria) Etymology: Latin, literally, lecture room Date: 1700 1. a room, hall, or building used for public gatherings 2. the part of a public building where an audience sits

Britannica Concise

Portion of a theater or hall where an audience sits, as distinct from the stage. The auditorium originated in the theaters of ancient Greece, as a semicircular seating area cut into a hillside. Floor levels in a large auditorium may include stalls, private boxes, dress circle, balcony or upper circle, and gallery. A sloping floor and converging walls allow for a clear view of the stage and improve acoustics. The walls and ceilings of contemporary auditoriums usually conceal light, sound, and air-conditioning equipment.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. auditoriums or auditoria) the part of a theatre etc. in which the audience sits. Etymology: L neut. of auditorius (adj.): see AUDITORY, -ORIUM

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Auditorium Au`di*to"ri*um, n. [L. See Auditory, n.] The part of a church, theater, or other public building, assigned to the audience. Note: In ancient churches the auditorium was the nave, where hearers stood to be instructed; in monasteries it was an apartment for the reception of strangers.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(auditoriums, or auditoria) 1. An auditorium is the part of a theatre or concert hall where the audience sits. N-COUNT 2. An auditorium is a large room, hall, or building which is used for events such as meetings and concerts. (AM) N-COUNT

Moby Thesaurus

Elizabethan theater, Globe Theatre, Greek theater, agora, amphitheater, arena, arena theater, assembly hall, athletic field, background, balcony, bear garden, bowl, box, box seat, boxing ring, bull ring, cabaret, campus, canvas, chapel, circle theater, circus, classroom, club, cockpit, coliseum, colosseum, concert hall, convention hall, course, dance hall, dress circle, exhibition hall, fauteuil, field, floor, forum, gallery, ground, gym, gymnasium, hall, hippodrome, house, lecture hall, lecture room, lists, little theater, locale, loge, marketplace, mat, meetinghouse, milieu, music hall, nigger heaven, night spot, nightclub, open forum, opera, opera house, orchestra, orchestra circle, outdoor theater, palaestra, parade ground, paradise, parquet, parquet circle, parterre, peanut gallery, pit, place, platform, playhouse, precinct, prize ring, proscenium boxes, public square, purlieu, range, recitation room, ring, scene, scene of action, scenery, schoolroom, setting, showboat, site, sphere, squared circle, stadium, stage, stage set, stage setting, stall, standing room, terrain, theater, theater-in-the-round, theatre stall, theatron, tilting ground, tiltyard, walk, wrestling ring