monoculture

noun

mono·​cul·​ture ˈmä-nə-ˌkəl-chər How to pronounce monoculture (audio)
1
a
: 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
monocultural adjective

Examples of monoculture in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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This might beg the question of the benefit of interplanting if crops don’t provide their maximum yield, but comparing the nutritional yield of polyculture versus monoculture parcels of land demonstrated that interplanting yielded greater nutritional value per hectare despite the lower crop yields. JSTOR Daily, 14 Oct. 2025 In what remains one of the last shows of force from the dwindling American monoculture, the Super Bowl Halftime Show still manages to feel like a national ritual. Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025 In a pop economy without a monoculture, McRae has engineered momentum that doesn’t depend on a single omnipresent hit. Rachel Brodsky, Time, 30 Sep. 2025 In the tradition of Limbaugh—and of all red-meat talk-show hosts since the demise of the monoculture—Vance seemed less interested in pastoring the nation than in preaching to the choir. Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for monoculture

Word History

First Known Use

1901, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of monoculture was in 1901

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Cite this Entry

“Monoculture.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monoculture. Accessed 25 Oct. 2025.

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