amphitheater Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a sloping gallery with seats for spectators (as in an operating room or theater)
    amphitheatre.
  2. noun an oval large stadium with tiers of seats; an arena in which contests and spectacles are held
    coliseum; amphitheatre.

WordNet

Am`phi*the"a*ter, Am`phi*the"a*tre noun (Also<
  • Amphitheater
  • Amphitheatre
)
Etymology
L. amphitheatrum, fr. Gr. + theater: cf. F. amphithéâtre. See Theater.
Definitions
  1. An oval or circular building with rising tiers of seats about an open space called the arena. ✍ The Romans first constructed amphitheaters for combats of gladiators and wild beasts.
  2. Anything resembling an amphitheater in form; as, a level surrounded by rising slopes or hills, or a rising gallery in a theater.

Webster 1913