1
: a person who reigns over a kingdom or empire: such as
a
: a sovereign ruler
b
: a constitutional (see constitutional entry 1 sense 3) king or queen
2
: one that holds preeminent position or power
cotton, monarch of the textile world—
Wall Street Journal
Wall Street JournalExamples of monarch in a Sentence
a new history of French monarchs
the ruling monarch of Britain at that time was Queen Elizabeth I
Recent Examples on the Web
The roles, created under the 1937 Regency Act, are given to the monarch's spouse and the next four adults in the line of succession over the age of 21, allowing appointees to carry out business on behalf of the monarch.
—Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2025
Louis de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou and heir to France's last reigning monarch, Louis XVI, has spoken out amid the ongoing political turmoil in the country, which has seen its eighth prime minister appointed under Macron's tenure and fourth since parliamentary elections in July last year.
—John Toher, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025
Under sponsorship by monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria began a new era of vast exploration of the world.
—The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 13 Oct. 2025
Moments later, the monarch began to flap its wings and crawl onto Bendicksen’s hand.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 11 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for monarch
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Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2025
Louis de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou and heir to France's last reigning monarch, Louis XVI, has spoken out amid the ongoing political turmoil in the country, which has seen its eighth prime minister appointed under Macron's tenure and fourth since parliamentary elections in July last year.
—John Toher, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025
Under sponsorship by monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria began a new era of vast exploration of the world.
—The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 13 Oct. 2025
Moments later, the monarch began to flap its wings and crawl onto Bendicksen’s hand.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 11 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for monarch
Cite this Entry
“Monarch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monarch. Accessed 24 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
monarch
noun
mon·arch
ˈmän-ərk 
-ˌärk
1
: a person who reigns over a kingdom or empire: as
a
: a ruler who has total power
absolute monarch
b
: someone who acts primarily as chief of state and who has only limited powers
constitutional monarch
2
: someone or something like a monarch
the oak is the monarch of the forest
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