monitor

noun mon·i·tor \ ˈmä-nə-tər \

Updated on: 8 Apr 2018

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

Referee Denis Aytekin originally gave a corner before deciding to check the VAR monitor over the incident.

— SI.com, "Gareth Southgate Slams VAR Rules After Penalty Controversy in England Draw With Italy," 28 Mar. 2018
If someone so much as spoke too loudly near his incubator, his oxygen levels could drop, setting off alarms from the monitors.

— eva holland, WIRED, "Saving Baby Boy Green," 27 Mar. 2018
Pushing the bleeding edge isn’t easy though, and the monitors—first promised for summer 2017—wound up being delayed.

— brad chacos, PCWorld, "Nvidia's delayed 4K, 144Hz G-Sync HDR displays are expected to launch in April," 22 Mar. 2018
Standing room only behind the monitor for this final scene.

— sarah midkiff, refinery29.com, "What We Know About The Scandal Finale From The Cast's Instagrams," 17 Mar. 2018
During that time, the prevailing winds were from the south to south southeast, which means the winds would have been blowing from the plant towards the monitor at that time.

— mark schleifstein, NOLA.com, "Dramatic Chalmette Refinery flaring was result of accident, not routine, state says," 12 Mar. 2018
The correct time was confirmed with use of the courtside monitor and digital stopwatch.

— elton alexander, cleveland.com, "Toledo gets past Eastern Michigan: MAC Tournament 2018 men's semifinals," 9 Mar. 2018
The industry monitor says the growth in the U.S., which is expected to produce a record of 12.1 million barrels a day in five years, is part of a broader movement away from OPEC countries.

— paul page, WSJ, "Today’s Top Supply Chain and Logistics News From WSJ," 6 Mar. 2018
Under the plan submitted to Robart, the Police Department’s Audit, Policy & Research Section would conduct audits, paying particular attention to concerns flagged by the monitor and the court during the first phase.

— steve miletich, The Seattle Times, "Will police reforms stick? Here’s Seattle’s plan for showing that," 6 Mar. 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

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

Banks should manage mortgages and consumer loans separately, and closely monitor borrowing through credit cards, the report said.

— Bloomberg.com, "China Cracks Down on Developers Financing Home Buys, Xinhua Says," 3 Nov. 2017
Already, the ability to monitor player and recruit social media accounts across multiple platforms in one spot instead of trying to follow each account on each individual network has proven beneficial, Ramsey said.

— jon hale, The Courier-Journal, "New social media company INFLCR working with UK basketball to build players' brands," 2 Nov. 2017
Some choose to be closely monitored, through breathalyzers and urine tests.

— kyle spencer, New York Times, "Opioids on the Quad," 30 Oct. 2017
We’re closely monitoring congressional efforts to reauthorize the program and are hopeful that it will be extended prior to the exhaustion of our current allotment.

— anna m. tinsley, star-telegram, "Are 400,000 Texas children about to lose their health insurance?," 25 Oct. 2017
McGuirk said patients have to be monitored closely and have access to a multi-disciplinary team of medical experts and a skilled intensive care unit in case something goes wrong.

— andy marso, kansascity, "‘Revolution in cancer medicine’: KU joins fight with approval of this therapy," 20 Oct. 2017
Pregnancy and childbirth became dramatically safer in the United States starting in the 1930's, partially because statewide review boards monitored maternal deaths and identified room for change, explains Main.

— Essence.com, "A Matter Of Life & Death: Why Are Black Women In The U.S. More Likely To Die During Or After Childbirth?," 26 Sep. 2017
This high-level intelligence post (previously held by Establishment figures such as Brent Scowcroft, Les Aspin, and Warren Rudman) independently monitors America’s spy agencies and was established in 1956 to counsel the president.

— adam ciralsky, The Hive, "Is Trump Mulling Peter Thiel for a Top Intelligence Advisory Post?," 22 Sep. 2017
Bake for 18-20 minutes, monitoring closely after 10.

— jackie varriano, The Seattle Times, "How to make crackers at home from scratch: It’s incredibly easy," 19 Sep. 2017