monks

Cultural  

1. Men under religious vows who live in a community and whose work is usually centered on their community, which is called a monastery. Buddhism and Christianity have notable groups of monks. In Christianity, the monks are members of religious orders.

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Example Sentences

They were Zen monks who painted as part of their spiritual training and used that art to express ideas that couldn’t be properly conveyed in words.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026

Devotees poured water on the streets, while some laid green banana leaves and flowers for the monks to walk on to escape the scorching heat.

From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026

That said, it’s unlikely that many students today spend as much time as Felix did dodging crossbow-wielding monks in an effort to rob freshly dug graves.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

Medieval monks in Easter Ross - and not the tiny island of Iona - may have created the intricately decorated 1,200-year-old Book of Kells, according to researchers.

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026

For a long time only these homely sounds were heard in the garden close, for the monks did not talk at their work.

From "The Door in the Wall" by Marguerite de Angeli