monitor

noun mon·i·tor \ ˈmä-nə-tər \

|Updated on: 12 Aug 2018

Examples: monitor in a Sentence

Definition of monitor

1 a : a student appointed to assist a teacher

b : one that warns or instructs

monitors and instructors for troops green in the art of war
—New York Times

c : one that monitors or is used in monitoring: such as

(1) : an electronic device with a screen used for display (as of television pictures or computer information)

(2) : a device for observing a biological condition or function

a heart monitor

2 : monitor lizard

[Monitor, first ship of the type]

a : a heavily armored warship formerly used in coastal operations having a very low freeboard and one or more revolving gun turrets

b : a small modern warship with shallow draft (see ¹draft 8) for coastal bombardment

4 : a raised central portion of a roof having low windows or louvers for providing light and air

—

monitorial

play \ˌmä-nə-ˈtȯr-ē-əl\ adjective

—

monitorship

play \ˈmä-nə-tər-ˌship\ noun

See monitor defined for English-language learners

See monitor defined for kids

Examples of monitor in a Sentence

They watched the press conference on a video monitor in a back room.
We put a baby monitor in the nursery.
U.N. weapons monitors and inspectors.

Recent Examples of monitor from the Web

The operating rooms are big — 300 square feet each, with ample empty space surrounding the operating table, anesthesiology equipment, various light and power sources and diagnostic equipment, and flat-screen monitors.

— ron hurtibise, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Cleveland Clinic readies new $53 million Coral Springs Family Health Center," 13 July 2018
There will also be new deals every day until July 20 on products like Inspiron laptops and monitors.

— courtney campbell, USA TODAY, "All the other stores having sales for Amazon Prime Day," 13 July 2018
Antigovernment activists and a conflict monitor said that the government had not yet driven rebels from the entire city, but that talks were taking place over a surrender deal that would leave the whole city in government hands.

— New York Times, "Netanyahu Says Putin Agreed to Restrain Iran in Syria," 12 July 2018
Though there are alternatives to detention – like using ankle monitors or community supervision – that have proven to be successful and cost-effective, the Trump administration is focused primarily on locking migrants up.

— margaret hartmann, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump Returns to ‘Catch and Release’ for Migrant Families – But Maybe Not for Long," 11 July 2018
Human rights monitors for the U.N. found that at least 120 women and girls were raped or gang-raped between April 16 and May 24.

— cara anna, Fox News, "Gang-rapes, lynchings: UN tallies latest South Sudan abuses," 10 July 2018
Human rights monitors for the U.N. found that at least 120 women and girls were raped or gang-raped between April 16 and May 24.

— cara anna, The Seattle Times, "Gang-rapes, lynchings: UN tallies latest South Sudan abuses," 10 July 2018
Roughly the size of an iPhone, this slim monitor slips neatly under your mattress to analyze REM cycles and breathing patterns.

— jancee dunn, Outside Online, "The Best Gadgets to Improve Your Sleep," 9 July 2018
Barefoot Sound’s studio monitors start at just under $4,000 and feature midrange drivers and more than double the wattage, which these Bookshelf Speakers can’t really compete against.

— micah singleton, The Verge, "Shinola made studio-quality speakers for your home," 9 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'monitor.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of monitor

Latin, one that warns, overseer, from monēre to warn — more at mind

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1530

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

Other Computer-Related Terms

adware, flash, kludge, phishing, recursive, router

monitor

verb

Definition of monitor

monitored; monitoring play \ˈmä-nə-t(ə-)riŋ\

transitive verb

: to watch, keep track of, or check usually for a special purpose

Nurses monitored the patient's heart rate.

See monitor defined for English-language learners

Examples of monitor in a Sentence

Nurses constantly monitored the patient's heart rate.
We're in a good position to monitor and respond to customer concerns.
Government agents have been monitoring the enemy's radio communications.

Recent Examples of monitor from the Web

On Tuesday, Clerk Magistrate Matthew Day ordered DeWolfe to remain under house arrest, wear a GPS monitoring bracelet, and not to consume alcohol or nonprescribed drugs.

— shelley murphy, BostonGlobe.com, "Drugged driver charged with homicide 10 months after fatal crash," 10 July 2018
Today, those regulations are still being phased in—meaning some farms have started monitoring programs, and others have not.

— emily atkin, The New Republic, "America’s Enduring Failure to Prevent Food-Borne Illness," 9 July 2018
Rather than relying on existing practice and products, van der Lee solved his problem by developing Vinduino (pronounced vin-doo-ee-noh), a soil moisture monitoring system that delivers precision irrigation.

— nicole miller-coleman, sandiegouniontribune.com, "As attention on Vinduino grows, so does its market," 7 July 2018
The city's waste facilities monitoring committee approved the request by John's at a special meeting July 3.

— erik s. hanley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Franklin extends landfill hours to accommodate John's Disposal after fire at Racine County plant," 6 July 2018
Customers in Philadelpha, Baltimore and elsewhere on the east coast reported outages of internet and video service on Twitter and on Internet monitoring site Downdetector.com, where outage reports began arriving just after 12:30 p.m. ET.

— mike snider, USA TODAY, "Comcast suffers outage of video, broadband services across parts of U.S.," 29 June 2018
The company will also be subjected to an extensive compliance monitoring regime, with a staff of at least six people overseeing the company's activities and reporting to the US government about any violations.

— timothy b. lee, Ars Technica, "Senate rejects Trump’s plan to lift ZTE export ban," 19 June 2018
He was also ordered to wear a GPS monitoring bracelet and surrender his passport and is only allowed to travel within New York and Connecticut.

— crimesider staff, CBS News, "Harvey Weinstein pleads not guilty to rape, criminal sex act charges," 5 June 2018
Weinstein also was required to relinquish his passport and wear a GPS monitoring system.

— anna north, Vox, "Harvey Weinstein is indicted on rape charges," 30 May 2018