theme
/θiːm/noun, verb
theme is spelled T-H-E-M-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 42 times per million words in written English, the 2,392nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, theme means “A subject, now especially of a talk or an artistic piece; a topic” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of theme is themes.
How many letters and syllables are in theme?
| Letters | 5: T-H-E-M-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 42 times per million words; the 2,392nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is theme?
Theme appears 42 times per million words in written English, the 2,392nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce theme?
- /θiːm/
Theme has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-theme.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of theme
- themes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- theming participle, present
- themed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does theme mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A subject, now especially of a talk or an artistic piece; a topic.
- 2
A concept with multiple instantiations.
variations on the theme of entrepreneurial resourcefulness
- 3
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.
switch to a dark theme to conserve battery power
- 4
datedAn essay written for school.
- 5
The main melody of a piece of music, especially one that is the source of variations.
- 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.
- 7
An additional puzzle within the crossword, typically involving a set of non-standard clues or answers.
- 8
The stem of a word.
verb
- 1
To give a theme to.
We themed the birthday party around superheroes.
- 2
To apply a theme to; to change the visual appearance and/or layout of (software).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Theme in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | thème |
| German | Thema , Motiv , Theme , Stamm, Wortstamm |
| Portuguese | tema |
| Spanish | tema, temática |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does theme come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).