monolith

noun

mono·​lith ˈmä-nə-ˌlith 

1

: a single great stone often in the form of an obelisk or column

A granite monolith stands at the center of the park.

2

: a massive structure

The 73-story monolith is one of Europe's tallest buildings.

3

: an organized whole that acts as a single unified powerful or influential force

The movie company grew into a monolith of the entertainment industry.

Examples of monolith in a Sentence

The new office building is a massive steel and concrete monolith.

The media monolith owns a number of networks.

Recent Examples on the Web

Horkheimer and Adorno had concluded that advanced capitalism, far from being a technocratic monolith, had an inherent tendency toward chaos and madness. —Alex Ross, New Yorker, 15 June 2026

Lewis had also been part of a group of four men who removed a mysterious 12-foot-tall metal monolith that appeared on public land outside Salt Lake City in 2020. —Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 15 June 2026

Kemp likes the way Byers uses his play to show the gay community is not a monolith. —Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 8 June 2026

The granite monolith of Stawamus Chief rises above Howe Sound, and its three summits also draw hikers for sweeping views across the inlet. —Vivian Chung, Travel + Leisure, 7 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

French monolithe, from monolithe consisting of a single stone, from Latin monolithus, from Greek monolithos, from mon- + lithos stone

First Known Use

1836, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for monolith

• coppersmith
• hammersmith
• silversmith
• beckwith
• blacksmith
• forthwith
• herewith
• locksmith
• outwith
• therewith
• wherewith
• frith

Kids Definition

monolith

noun

mono·​lith ˈmän-ᵊl-ˌith 

1

: a single great stone often in the form of a monument or column

2

: something large and powerful (as a political organization) that is thought to function as a unified whole

monolithic

ˌmän-ᵊl-ˈith-ik

adjective