abbey
noun
a monastery under the supervision of an abbot or a convent under the supervision of an abbess.
abbey
1 American
[ab-ee]
/ ˈæb i /
noun
-
abbeys
plural
-
a monastery under the supervision of an abbot or a convent under the supervision of an abbess.
-
the group of buildings comprising such a monastery or convent.
-
the church of an abbey.
Abbey
2
American
[ab-ee]
/ ˈæb i /
noun
-
Edward, 1927–89, U.S. novelist and nature writer.
-
Edwin Austin, 1852–1911, U.S. painter and illustrator.
-
a first name, form of Abigail.
abbey
British
/ ˈæbɪ /
noun
-
a building inhabited by a community of monks or nuns governed by an abbot or abbess
-
a church built in conjunction with such a building
-
such a community of monks or nuns
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of abbey
1200–50; Middle English abbey ( e ) < Old French abeie < Late Latin abbātia abbacy
Explanation
An abbey is a church that's part of a monastery or convent. You'll often find monks or nuns in an abbey. There are a few types of abbeys, but they're all related to intense religious dedication. An abbey can be a monastery or convent, which is either composed of monks or nuns who have withdrawn from society to live a life of poverty and chastity. You can also call a church associated with a monastery or convent an abbey. That type of abbey will be run by the monks or nuns but also open to other churchgoers.
Vocabulary lists containing abbey
Medieval Europe - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Before the Sagrada Familia mass on Wednesday, he is due to visit a prison and an abbey in the Montserrat mountain range overlooking Barcelona.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
To reach the abbey, visitors must climb the town’s famous 199 steps that rise along the cliff.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026
Chinese brides lining up to marry in Yorkshire abbey.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 31, 2026
First seen in its full glory at the nearby abbey of St. Denis, Gothic architecture served an age without electricity—one that learned to reduce its walls to their physical minimum in order to welcome sunlight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 3, 2025
I walk around the graveyard in the old abbey at Mungret where my mother’s relations are buried and I go up the boreen to the Norman castle at Carrigogunnell where Dad brought me twice.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
As for enduring monuments, Elvis fanatics have Graceland, Beatles obsessives have Abbey Road, but Dolly?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
The brothers aren’t known to have spoken in years, and haven’t been photographed together since King Charles’s coronation in 2023, when Harry sat several rows behind his older brother at Westminster Abbey.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
She graced the stage at Dublin’s Abbey Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company in London, and never looked back.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Rufus also scares pigeons away from Westminster Abbey and Lord's Cricket Ground, among other sites.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
That evening the Joseph Bell rang out a message of sadness and grief to Redwall Abbey.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
If you’re new to her work, here is where to start with Groff’s sprawling canon, which spans from steamy Florida swamps to medieval abbeys with a gift for the unexpected.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026
Abbey beers, which involve a brewer paying royalties in exchange for using the abbey name, are common in Belgium, but until now they have only been with abbeys housing monks.
From Reuters ● Dec. 10, 2021
Many of these abbeys outlived the age that created them, and their garden forms were borrowed in the more secular landscapes that followed.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 9, 2020
And Britain’s largest designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is blessed with an abundance of Roman sites, abbeys, gardens and castles.
From New York Times ● May 17, 2018
It is possible, though, to reconstruct, to some extent, the chants that were being sung in churches and abbeys from around the fourth century onwards, from manuscripts of various kinds.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
