monolith

mono·lith | \ ˈmä-nə-ˌlith

Definition of monolith

1 : a single great stone often in the form of an obelisk or column A granite monolith stands at the center of the park.

2 : a massive structure The 70-story monolith is one of Europe's tallest buildings.

3 : an organized whole that acts as a single unified powerful or influential force The movie company grew into a monolith of the entertainment industry.

Examples of monolith in a Sentence

The new office building is a massive steel and concrete monolith. The media monolith owns a number of networks.

Recent Examples on the Web Survivors are not a monolith, but for many, the rape case and its reverberations, are still incredibly painful. — Amira Rose Davis, The New Republic, "A Legacy of Incoherence," 1 Feb. 2020 While music cataloging and streaming services are not a monolith, their actions have consequently turned music discovery into a set of megaliths that will continue to confound and limit artists and listeners alike. — Mario J. Lucero, Quartz, "Music streaming services mishandle our data—and our culture is paying for it," 3 Jan. 2020 The tech industry, after all, is not a monolith, and many engineers and entrepreneurs work on projects that help society. — Kevin Roose, New York Times, "The 2019 Good Tech Awards," 30 Dec. 2019 Granite monoliths, gushing waterfalls and giant sequoias abound. — Washington Post, "Disturbing the peace? 5 hikes to avoid Yosemite crowds," 25 Nov. 2019 Its multistory adobe complexes and homes overlook an expanse of desert marked by rock monoliths. — Washington Post, "Native American shield returned to New Mexico from France," 19 Nov. 2019 White sales first started back in the late 1800s, when department store monoliths decided to sell their excess all-white bed linens at steep discounts to drum up business and clear out lingering inventory. — Elissa Sanci, Woman's Day, "The Best Shopping Deals In January," 30 Dec. 2019 To be more precise a pair of Prada monolith boots, straight off the catwalk. — Kara Nesvig, Teen Vogue, "Kendall Jenner Just Wore Pajamas with Combat Boots," 12 Dec. 2019 In 2019, Disney went from a very large and powerful company to a virtually inescapable cultural monolith. — Adam Epstein, Quartz, "2019 was Disney’s biggest year ever, but 2020 will be its most important," 20 Dec. 2019

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