monolith

noun

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

In all, Farabee said, 31 of the 120 climbers who have died in the park since 1905 have died on the famous granite monolith. — Peter Fimrite, San Francisco Chronicle, "Witness to death plunge of 2 climbers on El Capitan describes horrific final moments," 10 June 2018 In September 2017, a climber was killed on El Capitan and another injured when a rock crashed down on a popular climbing route along the East Buttress of the monolith. — Carlos Lozano, latimes.com, "Investigation continues into death of two climbers who fell from El Capitan in Yosemite National Park," 3 June 2018 In all, Farabee said, 31 of the 120 climbers who have died in the park since 1905 have died on the famous granite monolith. — Peter Fimrite, San Francisco Chronicle, "Witness to death plunge of 2 climbers on El Capitan describes horrific final moments," 10 June 2018 And so, there’s this dynamic here about ... there isn’t a monolith. — Recode Staff, Recode, "Full transcript: Fog Creek Software CEO Anil Dash answers all the questions on Too Embarrassed to Ask," 8 July 2018 Michael Buckner/Getty Images Like all of feminism, the fourth wave is not a monolith. — Constance Grady, Vox, "The waves of feminism, and why people keep fighting over them, explained," 1 June 2018 The stage and audience areas are sheltered between a pair of 300-foot monoliths, Ship Rock and Creation Rock, and another boulder anchored behind the stage bounces sound forward. — Christopher Reynolds, latimes.com, "Sitting in the palm of nature: The unique energy — and performances — of Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheatre," 12 July 2018 His Mexico, similarly, is not the monolith of political rhetoric, but generationally and ethnically diverse. — Christopher Borrelli, chicagotribune.com, "How UIC's Luis Alberto Urrea became the literary conscience of the border," 9 Mar. 2018 In all, Farabee said, 31 of the 120 climbers who have died in the park since 1905 have died on the famous granite monolith. — Peter Fimrite, The Seattle Times, "Witness describes death plunge of two Yosemite climbers," 11 June 2018

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.

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Last Updated

18 Sep 2018

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The first known use of monolith was in 1836

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More Definitions for monolith

monolith

noun

English Language Learners Definition of monolith

: 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

: a very large building or other structure

: a very large and powerful organization that acts as a single unit

See the full definition for monolith in the English Language Learners Dictionary

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