marquee

1 of 2

noun

mar·​quee mär-ˈkē How to pronounce marquee (audio)
1
chiefly British : a large tent set up for an outdoor party, reception, or exhibition
2
a
: a permanent canopy often of metal and glass projecting over an entrance (as of a hotel or theater)
The hotel doorman was stationed under the marquee.
b
: a sign usually over the entrance of a theater or arena that displays the names of featured attractions and principal performers
The brightly lighted marquee displayed the title of the movie currently featured.

marquee

2 of 2

adjective

: having or associated with the name recognition and attraction of one whose name appears on a marquee : big-name, star
marquee athletes
marquee events

Examples of marquee in a Sentence

Noun She dreamed of seeing her name on the theater marquee.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Having founded a company that helped launch the carers of marquee independent artists like Brent Faiyaz and Pink Sweat$, Erving was able to foster something more than just a distribution company. Kyle Denis, Billboard, 14 Mar. 2024 There are a few Ikon Pass options, with the top two tiers including unlimited days of skiing at slightly over a dozen marquee resorts. Brent Rose, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Mar. 2024 In the days and weeks that followed, there were introductions to make, news conferences to organize, and other marquee players — including fellow Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto, whose recruitment included an in-person meeting in which Ohtani took part — the team needed to add around him. Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2024 Broadway traditionally dims the theater marquee lights to pay tribute to legends in the industry who have died, according to the monthly theatergoer magazine PlayBill. Justin Gamble, CNN, 12 Mar. 2024 This year, there is no marquee down-ballot race to help Mr. Biden, and liberal organizers in the state have warned of money problems and lagging grass-roots energy. Nicholas Nehamas, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2024 In a year already jam-packed with marquee releases from Ariana Grande, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, Boone started off his year with a somewhat whimper, followed by a big bang. Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 6 Mar. 2024 What the Texas Rangers accomplished last fall, perfectly blending homegrown talent with a large sum of marquee acquisitions, is a relative outlier among recent championship teams in Houston, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. Scott Sandulli, Kansas City Star, 28 Feb. 2024 Men's college basketball:Kansas-Baylor clash in Big 12 headlines the biggest games this weekend At 6:00 p.m. ET, the marquee matchup of the day sees the Kansas Jayhawks (18-5) host the No. 13 Baylor Bears (17-5) in a battle for the top spot in the Big 12 Conference. Ayrton Ostly, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2024
Adjective
League-leaders Bayern Munich help kick off Saturday’s six-match slate before a pair of matches on Sunday, including a marquee matchup between Koln and Eintracht Frankfurt. Nick Hennion, Chicago Tribune, 10 Feb. 2023 Bergman will continue to have dominion over all of Disney’s marquee film stables, including Marvel, Pixar, Lucasfilm, Walt Disney Animation, 20th Century and Searchlight, as well as Disney Music Group and Disney Theatrical Group. Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Feb. 2023 White, listed at 6-foot-4, 225-pounds, is a marquee addition for Freeze and offensive coordinator Phillip Montgomery. Nick Alvarez | Nalvarez@al.com, al, 3 Feb. 2023 Gimlet Media, Spotify’s marquee acquisition announcing its arrival into the podcast category, is now a shell of its former self. Vulture, 3 Feb. 2023 With both candidates expected to raise significant campaign cash, the race for governor is Texas’ marquee contest. Dallas News, 27 June 2022 Many political observers considered Tuesday's Pennsylvania GOP Senate election to be the marquee contest in the busiest day of the midterm primary season. Nicholas Reimann, Forbes, 18 May 2022 Along with celebrating a marquee victory over an Aggies team that was 9-1 in its previous 10 games, the Mitchells turned 23 on Tuesday. Bob Holt, Arkansas Online, 3 Feb. 2023 Both singers are nominated for the evening’s top prizes, including the marquee record of the year category. Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'marquee.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Adjective

modification of French marquise, literally, marchioness

First Known Use

Noun

1690, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1946, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of marquee was in 1690

Dictionary Entries Near marquee

Cite this Entry

“Marquee.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/marquee. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

marquee

noun
mar·​quee
mär-ˈkē
1
: a large tent set up for an outdoor party or exhibition
2
: a rooflike structure sticking out over an entrance
a theater marquee

More from Merriam-Webster on marquee

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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