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  

/ 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

At Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, the capital's large medieval monastery and cultural heritage site, the golden domes of the Dormition Cathedral were hit.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

Like many Tibetan men, he served as a monk, spending 12 years at a southern India monastery.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 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

The historic El Escorial monastery -- a major tourist attraction -- was shrouded in a grayish, smoke-filled mist.

From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026

In 1853, he had returned to the monastery and started work as a substitute teacher at the Brno Modern School.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Greece will in return receive 48 objects pillaged by Bulgarian troops from churches and monasteries in northern Greece during World War I.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

A fire that began Monday in Spain's northeastern Aragon region and has forced the evacuation of 850 people so far is threatening the two monasteries of San Juan de la Pena.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

Thetford, England, population about 25,500, has been mostly quiet since King Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries kneecapped the local economy in 1540.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

In Tibet, the authorities have arrested monks, and taken control of monasteries to ensure they do not worship the Dalai Lama.

From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2026

Here, round the King's castle, there were streets—not just one street—and castles of dependent barons, and monasteries, chapels, churches, cathedrals, markets, merchants’ houses.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White