throne
Americannoun
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thrones
plural
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the chair or seat occupied by a sovereign, bishop, or other exalted personage on ceremonial occasions, usually raised on a dais and covered with a canopy.
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the office or dignity of a sovereign.
He came to the throne by succession.
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the occupant of a throne; sovereign.
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sovereign power or authority.
to address one's pleas to the throne.
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an episcopal office or authority.
the diocesan throne.
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thrones, an order of angels.
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Facetious. a toilet.
verb (used with or without object)
noun
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the ceremonial seat occupied by a monarch, bishop, etc on occasions of state
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the power, duties, or rank ascribed to a royal person
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a person holding royal rank
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(plural; often capital) the third of the nine orders into which the angels are traditionally divided in medieval angelology
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of throne
1175–1225; Middle English < Latin thronus < Greek thrónos high seat; replacing Middle English trone < Old French < Latin, as above
Explanation
The oversized, bejeweled chair on which a king or queen sits is called a throne. Monarchs — kings and queens — sit on thrones on special ceremonial occasions, and so do religious figures such as bishops and popes. You can also describe the act of naming a new monarch this way: "Queen Elizabeth II of England was throned in 1952." The word throne has its root in the Greek thronos, "chair or elevated seat." In ancient Greek mythology, Zeus was said to sit on a special heavenly seat, the Dios thronous.
Vocabulary lists containing throne
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
After Duncan is dead, Macbeth worries that his friend Banquo’s line will end up on the throne.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
He is the 267th occupant of the throne of St Peter – and is the first American.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
“Walls will begin to whisper throughout. You get to take Paul’s throne and see the desert come alive around you. Guests may even find out if they have what it takes to ride a sandworm.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
The Orange Order is an pro-British organisation that takes its name from William of Orange, the Protestant Dutchman who seized the English, Scottish and Ireland throne from Catholic King James II in 1689.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
Shaking his head, sighing and sputtering, the King collapsed onto a throne carved from rock.
From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander
The ceremony then culminated with Mullally being seated in two different thrones.
From Barron's ● Mar. 25, 2026
Warner Bros.’ sale has become the industry’s game of thrones.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 23, 2025
On Friday Netflix aced out Paramount Skydance and Comcast to win this game of media thrones.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
Charles Edward Stuart, better known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, led a rising in 1745 to win back the thrones of Britain for his father, the exiled James VIII.
From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2025
Grover stood in the middle, facing three really old, really fat satyrs who sat on topiary thrones shaped out of rose bushes.
From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan
A hoarder of women, art, antiquities — and most of all, money — Getty also might have taken issue with Portia’s claim that mercy “becomes the throned monarch better than his crown.”
From New York Times ● Dec. 24, 2017
So Blatter is seeking to be throned for another four years as Fifa big cheese at the elections to be held in June.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 22, 2011
They have commanded knights and serfs, taken walled towns and sat throned among their armies.
From Time Magazine Archive
The spectacle of John L. Lewis on Organized Labor's pinnacle, throned on Coal and crowned with Steel, is not fantastic.
From Time Magazine Archive
A kingdom where kings are throned and dethroned daily.
From "Look Both Ways" by Jason Reynolds
Those preparations check with speed, Nor let my throning rites proceed.
From The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by Ralph T. H. (Ralph Thomas Hotchkin) Griffith
According to the ethics of the day, he was a model citizen, whereas Antony throning as Osiris with a female Mithridates for consort, was as oblivious of Roman dignity as of conjugal faith.
From Historia Amoris: A History of Love, Ancient and Modern by Edgar Saltus
Above their heads the trees met in a brown-and-purple tracery of boughs, and on their right, through the branches, they saw a pale full moon, throning it in a silver sky.
From The Testing of Diana Mallory by Mrs. Humphry Ward
These kings sought to crown that semi-barbarous occupation of North Italy during two centuries by throning themselves in Rome, and making the Pope their vassal.
From The Formation of Christendom, Volume VII by Thomas W. Allies
Thus toward that throning bosom Where all earth is warmed,—each spot Nourished with autumnal blessings - Icy chill was Daphne caught.
From Poems — Volume 1 by George Meredith
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