theme song

noun

plural theme songs

1

: a song or melody strongly associated with someone or something

a famous performer's theme song

the theme song of a political campaign

often : an identifying melody or song typically played at the beginning of a movie, television show, etc., and sometimes recurring during its course

Some of these shows were truly unforgettable, with catchy theme songs that are instantly recognizable decades later.

—Grant Butler

2

: a statement, expression, or opinion repeatedly heard from someone

But literary history is also entangled with criticism. Inevitably so; let me revert unblushingly to my theme song: in order to appreciate a masterpiece, we must be acquainted with its language …

—Albert Guerard

Examples of theme song in a Sentence

He was playing the theme song from “The Godfather.”

Recent Examples on the Web

At least that’s what the theme song for Under 30 alum, content creator, and card game founder Serena Kerrigan’s debut TV series says. —Zoya Hasan, Forbes.com, 23 May 2025

Norm was America’s favorite barfly, and as the theme song said, everybody knew his name. —Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 23 May 2025

And [composer] Michael Abels came back with this theme song that just rocked our worlds, and Julianne [Moore] was amazing and studied it. —Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 22 May 2025

Cheers’s opening theme song said the eponymous bar was where everybody knows your name. —Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 21 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1908, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for theme song

• evensong
• livelong
• overlong
• vietcong
• agung
• along
• belong
• birdsong
• furlong
• headlong
• headstrong
• lifelong