monster

1 of 2

noun

mon·​ster ˈmän(t)-stər 

plural monsters

1

a

: an animal of strange or terrifying shape

a mythical monster

a sea monster

… visualize this scaleless monster, eight or nine feet long, sprawling in the shade by the side of the mud pools …

—W. E. Swinton

b

: one unusually large for its kind

That truck is a monster.

That's why I was born in my grandmother's house—a grand, brick Federal monster of a house.

—John Irving

2

a

: an animal or plant of abnormal form or structure

b

: one who deviates from normal or acceptable behavior or character

an immoral monster

3

: a threatening force

the same monster—Destiny … that rolls every civilization to doom

—W. L. Sullivan

4

: something monstrous

especially : a person of unnatural or extreme ugliness, deformity, wickedness, or cruelty

a cruel monster of a father

5

: one that is highly successful

That movie was a monster at the box office.

monster

2 of 2

adjective

: enormous or impressive especially in size, extent, or numbers

Synonyms

Noun

• grotesque
• grotesquerie
• grotesquery
• monstrosity
• ogre

Adjective

• astronomical
• astronomic
• Brobdingnagian
• bumper
• colossal
• cosmic
• cosmical
• cyclopean
• elephantine
• enormous
• galactic
• gargantuan
• giant
• gigantesque
• gigantic
• grand
• herculean
• heroic
• heroical
• Himalayan
• huge
• humongous
• humungous
• immense
• jumbo
• king-size
• king-sized
• leviathan
• mammoth
• massive
• mega
• mighty
• monstrous
• monumental
• mountainous
• oceanic
• pharaonic
• planetary
• prodigious
• super
• super-duper
• supersize
• supersized
• titanic
• tremendous
• vast
• vasty
• walloping
• whacking
• whopping

Examples of monster in a Sentence

Noun

That car is a monster.

Inflation has become an economic monster.

Adjective

The movie turned out to be a monster hit.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Another one of Universal’s monsters features prominently in the Curse of the Werewolf spinning coaster. —Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 May 2025

Dark Universe is where monsters from Universal’s classic horror films – like Frankenstein, Dracula and the Invisible Man – live on in the village of Darkmoor. —Eve Chen, USA Today, 16 May 2025

Adjective

Flagg is perfect positionally within their potential long-term starting five as a real playmaking four with size and ball skills, along with monster defensive traits. —Sam Vecenie, New York Times, 12 May 2025

The film wastes little time getting to the action, which is great for kaiju fans who prefer less human yapping and more monster slapping. —EW.com, 8 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English monstre, from Anglo-French, from Latin monstrum omen, monster, from monēre to warn — more at mind

Adjective

from atributive use of monster entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

1837, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing monster

• Gila monster
• green-eyed monster
• Loch Ness monster
• party monster
• sea monster

Kids Definition

monster

1 of 2 noun

mon·​ster ˈmän(t)-stər 

1

: an animal or plant of abnormal form or structure

2

: a strange or horrible creature

3

: something unusually large

4

: an extremely wicked or cruel person

monster

2 of 2 adjective

: very large : enormous