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.
From the M-W Editors
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 of monolith from the Web
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Hundreds of Australian Aboriginal leaders gathered on Friday at Uluru, a massive sandstone monolith in Australia’s central desert, to call for a road map to a treaty and to enshrine an indigenous representative body in the Constitution.
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And how long before most of them get absorbed by a monolith, or try to become one themselves?
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The rules themselves date back to the early 20th century when General Motors and Ford were monoliths and dealers were actually powerless.
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.
Origin and Etymology of monolith
French monolithe, from monolithe consisting of a single stone, from Latin monolithus, from Greek monolithos, from mon- + lithos stone
First Known Use: 1836
MONOLITH Defined for English Language Learners
monolith
playDefinition of monolith for English Language Learners
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: a very large stone that is usually tall and narrow; especially : a stone that was put in position by people as a monument or for religious reasons
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: a very large building or other structure
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: a very large and powerful organization that acts as a single unit
Learn More about monolith
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See words that rhyme with monolith Spanish Central: Translation of monolith Nglish: Translation of monolith for Spanish speakers
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