monoculture

noun

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mono·cul·ture | \ ˈmä-nə-ˌkəl-chər

Definition of monoculture

1a : the cultivation or growth of a single crop or organism especially on agricultural or forest land

b : a crop or a population of a single kind of organism grown on land in monoculture

c : growth consisting of a single crop, plant, or organism The plant forms a thick monoculture that cuts down on the variety of plants and birdlife in the marsh …— James Gorman

2 : a culture dominated by a single element : a prevailing culture marked by homogeneity

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Examples of monoculture in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web New York offers tech companies the ability to be near other tech companies without being in an industry monoculture, because of the diversified nature of business in New York. — Shimon Shkury, Forbes, "Amazon And Tech Are Leading NYC’s Office Recovery," 1 Mar. 2021 It’s the way people ate for millennia, before mechanization and monoculture became the norm, and its Indigenous roots run parallel to Vega’s own. — Hilary Cadigan, Bon Appétit, "Chef Maricela Vega Shows Us How to Love Eating Plants In the Winter," 18 Jan. 2021 The great northern wilderness — the ancient boreal forests that once seemed endless — has been ruthlessly clear-cut for biofuel and paper and replaced by monoculture plantations of spruce or pine for over half a century. — New York Times, "Wintry Scenes From a Swedish Wonderland," 21 Dec. 2020 But also, the city has not sufficiently diversified from its monoculture casino economy. — Michael Taylor, ExpressNews.com, "Taylor: Are casinos the answer to Texas’ fiscal troubles?," 31 Dec. 2020 This year, monoculture floundered, but microculture flourished. — Jason Kehe, Wired, "2020: The Year of Cancel(l)ed Culture," 21 Dec. 2020 As is the case with so many institutions, a lot of the errors can be chalked up to a political monoculture that quickly hardens biased assumptions into groupthink. — Inez Stepman, Star Tribune, "If democracy is shaken, campaign polling is in pieces," 4 Dec. 2020 The street had gone from a rich ecosystem to a monoculture. — Tom Vanderbilt, Wired, "The Pandemic Gives Us a Chance to Change How We Get Around," 2 Dec. 2020 If there is a more waxen emblem of elite monoculture than Joe Biden, none leaps to mind. — Holman W. Jenkins, WSJ, "A Laptop Window on the Oligarchy," 20 Oct. 2020

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