monastery

noun

mon·​as·​tery ˈmä-nə-ˌster-ē How to pronounce monastery (audio)
plural monasteries
: a house for persons under religious vows
especially : an establishment for monks

Examples of monastery in a Sentence

Gregory Mendel worked out his concepts of genetics by doing breeding experiments using pea plants in the monastery's garden.
Recent Examples on the Web The film recounts the events that occur after a nine-year-old Aboriginal Australian orphan boy arrives in the dead of night at a remote monastery run by a renegade nun. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 13 Mar. 2024 The Scandinavian pagans first arrived on the British Isles in the late eighth century, conducting a violent raid on the Northumbrian Lindisfarne monastery in 793. Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Mar. 2024 Century after century, conversations echoed against the archways of a monastery in Spain. Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 28 Feb. 2024 Local media reported the monastery in Buffalo was located near a busy intersection and park. Emma Colton, Fox News, 11 Feb. 2024 The Palestinian citizen of northern Israel — a neuroscientist and a folk singer renowned in the Arab world — was starting a silent retreat at a Christian monastery in Jerusalem when word of the Hamas massacre began to spread. Judith Sudilovsky, Washington Post, 2 Feb. 2024 Indeed beautiful and inspiring, Subiaco Academy and monastery stands as a testament to the faith and hard work of the German population living in the area. Curtis Varnell The Timepiece, arkansasonline.com, 25 Feb. 2024 But most of the resplendent old churches, pagodas, and monasteries were now derelict shells or razed to the ground—the Khmer Rouge had demolished many places of worship. Chantha Nguon, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Feb. 2024 Today, a small museum and restored monastery buildings stand adjacent to the abbey ruins, which can be visited without a reservation. Elizabeth Heath, Travel + Leisure, 25 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'monastery.' 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

Middle English monasterie, from Late Latin monasterium, from Late Greek monastērion, from Greek, hermit's cell, from monazein to live alone, from monos single — more at monk

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of monastery was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near monastery

Cite this Entry

“Monastery.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monastery. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

monastery

noun
mon·​as·​tery ˈmän-ə-ˌster-ē How to pronounce monastery (audio)
plural monasteries
: a place where a community of monks or nuns live and work
monasterial
ˌmän-ə-ˈstir-ē-əl
adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on monastery

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