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

Analysts say Uttar Pradesh’s BJP chief minister, the hardline Hindu monk Yogi Adityanath, has relied on a mixed strategy of economic reform and religious polarization to attract votes. —Rhea Mogul, CNN, 16 Sep. 2023

In 1746, a Benedictine monk named Antoine Augustin Calmet published a popular treatise that sought, among other things, to distinguish real revenants from frauds. —Franz Lidz, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2023

The news that Shetty was moving to India to become a monk was not greeted with enthusiasm. —Amy Kaufman, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2023

The need to dye the Buddhist monks’ robes yellow may have first prompted Oc Eo to import turmeric, the paper says. —Matt Hrodey, Discover Magazine, 7 Aug. 2023

Before the Reformation, when journeying on foot was England’s most popular expression of spirituality, monks would come to the Shave Cross Inn to have their heads shorn in a gesture of devotion to Saint Wite. —Catherine Fairweather, Travel + Leisure, 28 Aug. 2023

Almost all young Thai men were expected to enter a monastery and reside as a novice monk for a period of several weeks. —Peggy Fletcher Stack, The Salt Lake Tribune, 27 Aug. 2023

How did becoming a monk become the way for the show to say goodbye to Stanford? —Kate Aurthur, Variety, 25 Aug. 2023

Her father left for the North, to Pskov, and became a monk there. —Lyudmila Ulitskaya, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2023

See More

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 seal
• monk's cloth

• monk parakeet
• monk seal
• monk's cloth

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