monolith

noun

mono·​lith ˈmä-nə-ˌlith 

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

Students are not a monolith, of course, and many would not participate—nor should universities look at their students merely as potential protesters who might serve university interests. —Ars Staff, ArsTechnica, 17 Apr. 2025

The release-date move leaves Universal’s monolith Jurassic World Rebirth on July 2 and an Angel Studios untitled movie on July 4, with Warner Bros/DC Studios’ Superman from James Gunn opening July 11. —Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 31 Mar. 2025

Modular systems break the monolith into independent components. —Serge Beck, Forbes, 10 Mar. 2025

Archaeologists from the University of Exeter and Historic England didn’t expect the mysterious enclosure to predate the legendary monolith. —Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 9 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French monolithe, from monolithe consisting of a single stone, from Latin monolithus, from Greek monolithos, from mon- + lithos stone

First Known Use

1836, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for monolith

• coppersmith
• hammersmith
• silversmith
• beckwith
• blacksmith
• forthwith
• herewith
• locksmith
• outwith
• therewith
• wherewith
• frith

Kids Definition

monolith

noun

mono·​lith ˈmän-ᵊl-ˌith 

1

: a single great stone often in the form of a monument or column

2

: something large and powerful (as a political organization) that is thought to function as a unified whole

monolithic

ˌmän-ᵊl-ˈith-ik

adjective