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 73-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

Just off Highway 101 in San Jose sits the Monarch Truck Center, a hulking monolith that for years sold, leased, fixed, and pretty much did everything involving trucks. —John Ramos, CBS News, 2 Mar. 2026

On May 20, 2025, Joslin and a group of activists climbed up one-third of El Capitan, a 3,000-foot granite monolith in Yosemite Park, unfurling a large Transgender flag and hanging it along the mountainside for approximately two hours. —Noe Padilla, USA Today, 24 Feb. 2026

Others have questioned how The Economist can successfully remain a faceless print monolith in an era of personalization. —Max Tani, semafor.com, 23 Feb. 2026

Frog Woman Rock, a volcanic monolith and California Historic Landmark, rises from the Russian River Canyon. —Audrey T. Williams, Mercury News, 23 Feb. 2026

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