cloister

American  

[kloi-ster] / ˈklɔɪ stər /

noun

1. a covered walk, especially in a religious institution, having an open arcade or colonnade usually opening onto a courtyard.

2. a courtyard, especially in a religious institution, bordered with such walks.

3. a place of religious seclusion, as a monastery or convent.

   Synonyms:

   priory, abbey

4. any quiet, secluded place.

5. life in a monastery or convent.

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verb (used with object)

1. to confine in a monastery or convent.

2. to confine in retirement; seclude.

3. to furnish with a cloister or covered walk.

4. to convert into a monastery or convent.

cloister British  

/ ˈklɔɪstə /

noun

1. a covered walk, usually around a quadrangle in a religious institution, having an open arcade or colonnade on the inside and a wall on the outside

2. (sometimes plural) a place of religious seclusion, such as a monastery

3. life in a monastery or convent

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verb

1. (tr) to confine or seclude in or as if in a monastery

Other Word Forms

• cloister-like adjective
• cloisterless adjective
• cloisterlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of cloister

1250–1300; Middle English cloistre < Anglo-French, Old French, blend of cloison partition ( cloisonné ) and clostre (< Latin claustrum barrier ( Late Latin: enclosed place); claustrum )

Example Sentences

On Tuesday, Homeboy Industries acquired the Monastery of the Angels, a hidden oasis in the Hollywood Hills where cloistered Dominican nuns lived for nearly 90 years before vacating the site in 2022.

From Los Angeles Times

A series of unfortunate events ultimately lead to her permanent cloister, a tiny cell built into the wall of a cathedral.

From Los Angeles Times

He was born into the cloistered art world as the son of a German Jewish art dealer who fled Berlin in the 1930s and restarted his business in London.

From The Wall Street Journal

She picked Gita Kaur, whose grandmother had kept Gita virtually cloistered in the family house in Nairobi until she was 19.

From The Wall Street Journal

There the nun discovers her own inner sleuth, and unexpectedly finds joy in life outside the cloister.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• nunnery