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

In October of 1517, a 34-year-old monk named Martin Luther (probably) nailed his famous Ninety-Five Theses to the door of All Saint’s Church in Wittenberg, in what is now eastern Germany. —Literary Hub, 25 Mar. 2026

The city’s oldest Zen Buddhist temple, Kennin-ji Temple is across the street, and one of the hotel’s many offerings is a quiet early morning walking meditation led by a monk in the dry gardens of its sub-temple Ryosokuin. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Mar. 2026

One flirts and drinks and dallies and dances; the other is part child, part monk, his mantel packed with icons and crucifixes, his inner landscape a kind of mental Sagrada Família — a weird and extraordinary edifice constructed around the rigors and promises of Christianity. —Sara Holdren, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026

Its owner, a nonprofit that supports a community of Benedictine monks, put it on the market earlier this year. —ABC News, 12 Mar. 2026

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