“Theater” or “Theatre”

Language

Theater and theatre are both English terms.

Usage

Theater is predominantly used in 🇺🇸 American (US) English (en-US) while theatre is predominantly used in 🇬🇧 British English (used in UK/AU/NZ) (en-GB).

In terms of actual appearance and usage, here's a breakdown by country, with usage level out of 100 (if available) 👇:

Term	US	UK	India	Philippines	Canada	Australia	Liberia	Ireland	New Zealand	Jamaica	Trinidad & Tobago	Guyana
theater	76	4	23	78	19	8	100	7	10	42	39	41
theatre	24	96	77	22	81	92	0	93	90	58	61	59

• In the United States, there is a preference for "theater" over "theatre" (76 to 24).
• In the United Kingdom, there is a 96 to 4 preference for "theatre" over "theater".
• In India, there is a 77 to 23 preference for "theatre" over "theater".
• In the Philippines, there is a preference for "theater" over "theatre" (78 to 22).
• In Canada, there is a 81 to 19 preference for "theatre" over "theater".
• In Australia, there is a 92 to 8 preference for "theatre" over "theater".
• In Liberia, there is a preference for "theater" over "theatre" (100 to 0).
• In Ireland, there is a 93 to 7 preference for "theatre" over "theater".
• In New Zealand, there is a 90 to 10 preference for "theatre" over "theater".
• In Jamaica, there is a 58 to 42 preference for "theatre" over "theater".
• In Trinidad & Tobago, there is a 61 to 39 preference for "theatre" over "theater".
• In Guyana, there is a 59 to 41 preference for "theatre" over "theater".

Examples

Below, we provide some examples of when to use theater or theatre with sample sentences.

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