monk

1 of 2

noun (1)

ˈməŋk 

: a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery

also : friar

monk

2 of 2

noun (2)

: monkey

Examples of monk in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

For instance, a sustained power struggle between monks and reformers after the 13th Dalai Lama’s death in 1933 weakened the Tibetan state, leaving it ill prepared to resist the arrival of the People’s Liberation Army in 1950. —Tenzin Dorjee, Foreign Affairs, 1 Sep. 2025

In her retellings, Daedone has described Davon as a Buddhist monk. —Thessaly La Force, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2025

The funeral itself was a sober affair, with Abbot Placid Solari — a Benedictine monk, Abbot of Belmont Abbey and Chancellor of Belmont Abbey College — providing the homily. —Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 26 Aug. 2025

Nichiren was a monk and philosopher of the Kamakura period (1185–1333), and his teachings form the basis of a unique branch of Japanese Mahāyāna Buddhism based on the Lotus Sūtra, one of the most influential and venerated Buddhist Mahāyāna sūtras. —Natasha Gural, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English munuc, from Late Latin monachus, from Late Greek monachos, from Greek, adjective, single, from monos single, alone

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1841, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing monk

• monk parakeet
• monk's cloth
• monk seal

Rhymes for monk

• bunk
• chunk
• clunk
• drunk
• dunk
• hunk
• junk
• punk
• shrunk
• slunk
• spunk
• sunk

Kids Definition

monk

noun

ˈməŋk

: a member of a religious community made up of men who agree to give up worldly life, remain poor and unmarried, and obey all laws of their community

monkish

ˈməŋ-kish

adjective

Biographical Definition

Monk

biographical name

ˈməŋk 

Thelonious Sphere 1920–1982 American jazz musician