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Definition of throne noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

throne

noun
 
/θrəʊn/
 
/θrəʊn/
Idioms
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  1. [countable] a special chair used by a king or queen to sit on at ceremonies
    • He sat very upright in his chair, as if he were a king on his throne.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • empty
    • vacant
    • imperial
    • …
    verb + throne
    • ascend
    • assume
    • come to
    • …
    preposition
    • on the throne
    phrases
    • somebody’s accession to the throne
    • a claimant to the throne
    • a pretender to the throne
    • …
    See full entry
  2. the throne
     [singular] the position of being a king or queen
    • Queen Elizabeth came/succeeded to the throne in 1952.
    • on the throne when Henry VIII was on the throne (= was king)
    • Prince Charles is next in line to the British throne.
    Wordfinder
    Extra Examples
    • The marriage failed to produce an heir to the throne.
    • a claimant to the vacant Spanish throne
    • Republican revolutionaries toppled the king from his throne.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • empty
    • vacant
    • imperial
    • …
    verb + throne
    • ascend
    • assume
    • come to
    • …
    preposition
    • on the throne
    phrases
    • somebody’s accession to the throne
    • a claimant to the throne
    • a pretender to the throne
    • …
    See full entry
    3. Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French trone, via Latin from Greek thronos ‘elevated seat’.
Idioms
the (real) power behind the throne
  1. the person who really controls an organization, a country, etc. in contrast to the person who is legally in charge
    • His assistant was thought to be the real power behind the throne.
See throne in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee throne in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: throne

Nearby words

perspective
noun
 
 
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