26984 words

theories

7 definitions • 16 examples
1
a formal statement of the rules on which a subject of study is based or of ideas that are suggested to explain a fact or event or, more generally, an opinion or explanation:

Examples:

theory of Darwin's theory of evolution
have a theory that He has a theory that the hole was caused by a meteorite.
2
If something is possible in theory, it should be possible, but often it does not happen in that way:

Examples:

In theory, the journey should take three hours, but in practice it usually takes four because of roadworks.
3

Examples:

[ U ] Adele took a course in modern political theory.
[ C ] I have a theory (= an opinion) about why everybody in the city is in such a hurry.
4
a formal statement of ideas that are suggested to explain a fact or event, or how something works:

Examples:

He has four theories to explain organizational change and development.
economic/political theory Economic theory says that there is little connection between the euro's value against the dollar or the yen and the success of monetary union itself.
a theory of sth In this article the authors develop a theory of high-performing organizations.
5
6
a statement of an opinion or an explanation of an idea that is believed to be true, but might be wrong:

Examples:

The theory is that staff react better to praise than to criticism.
People will buy the product if you put it in the right place - well, that's the theory anyway.
7
if something is possible in theory, it should be possible, but often it does not happen in that way:

Examples:

In theory, you can be up and trading in a just a day.
Employing fewer people sounds great in theory, but how's it going to work out in practice?

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