monastery

American  

[mon-uh-ster-ee] / ˈmɒn əˌstɛr i /

noun

• monasteries
  plural

1. a house or place of residence occupied by a community of persons, especially monks, living in seclusion under religious vows.

   Synonyms:

   lamasery, friary, priory, abbey, cloister

2. the community of persons living in such a place.

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monastery British  

/ ˌmɒnəˈstɪərɪəl, ˈmɒnəstərɪ, -strɪ /

noun

1. the residence of a religious community, esp of monks, living in seclusion from secular society and bound by religious vows

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• monasterial
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• monasteries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of monastery

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Late Latin monastērium, from Late Greek monastḗrion “monk house,” originally, “hermit's cell,” equivalent to monas-, variant stem of monázein “to be alone” + -tērion neuter adjective suffix denoting place; see mono-

Explanation

A monastery is the building where monks live while they’re practicing their religion. Some monasteries are occupied by hundreds of monks, and sometimes only one monk lives there all alone. Christians have a church, Jews have a synagogue, and monks have a monastery, which serves not only as their holy place of worship, but also where they eat and sleep. You’ll use the word mostly when referring to monks, but there are some monasteries for Catholic nuns. The Greek word monastērion means “a place to live alone,” and monks and nuns go to a monastery to focus on their religion in isolation, away from the rest of the world.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

monastery monasteries

The tiny village of Zvernec sits on the coast outside Vlore, known for its more than 700-year-old Byzantine-era monastery on the edge of the Narta Lagoon.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

Rescue efforts for others feared trapped in the debris after a hillside above the Orthodox Church monastery collapsed in the early hours of Monday morning have now been halted.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

Funerals have been held for some of the 14 people killed in a landslide that hit a mountain monastery hosting an overnight prayer session in Ethiopia's northern Amhara region.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

Many exist only in manuscript form, languishing in the vaults of some library or monastery.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

Walking to my job, I contemplate life in a monastery.

From "The Misfits" by James Howe

A papal letter reveals that Hadrian appointed Offa the steward of various monasteries dedicated to St. Peter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026

He inherited great wealth from his father, and seized more from monasteries after breaking with the Catholic church, yet still ended up short on cash.

From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026

Later revivals identified by Mr. Roeck include the cultivation of ancient Greek learning in Europe’s far-flung medieval monasteries, and renewed attention to Roman poetry and history in Charlemagne’s ninth-century imperial court at Aachen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2025

This is a huge change for a community where monks were often recruited as children, and monasteries doubled up as schools for most boys.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2025

As far as she knew, the monks had worked at desks with sloping tops in the scriptoria of their monasteries, but she kept this information to herself.

From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke