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• Loch Ness monster
  Loch Ness monster

  noun

  a large aquatic animal resembling a serpent or a plesiosaurlike reptile, reported to have been seen in the waters of Loch Ness, Scotland, but not proved to exist.
• Loch Ness Monster
  Loch Ness Monster

  A gigantic, humped, dragonlike creature thought to inhabit the icy depths of Loch Ness, a lake in north-central Scotland. Periodic sightings of “Nessie” have been alleged since the early 1930s (though the legend of such a creature dates to the seventh century), but the monster remains elusive.

Loch Ness monster

American  

noun

1. a large aquatic animal resembling a serpent or a plesiosaurlike reptile, reported to have been seen in the waters of Loch Ness, Scotland, but not proved to exist.

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Loch Ness Monster Cultural  

1. A gigantic, humped, dragonlike creature thought to inhabit the icy depths of Loch Ness, a lake in north-central Scotland. Periodic sightings of “Nessie” have been alleged since the early 1930s (though the legend of such a creature dates to the seventh century), but the monster remains elusive.

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Etymology

Origin of Loch Ness monster

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Loch Ness monster Loch Ness Monster

The Loch Ness monster appeared on screen before being magically coaxed on to the stage by Outlander star Sam Heughan.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

As an X-file from an earlier era, when fringe theories about UFOs, crop circles or the Loch Ness monster were quarantined as tabloid fodder, the lore around the wilderness footage seems quaint by today’s standards.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026

This is not a search for the Loch Ness monster.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 18, 2023

Monster hunters are gathering in northern Scotland this weekend for what is being billed as the biggest search for the Loch Ness monster in 50 years.

From New York Times ● Aug. 25, 2023

“My sister. Her name was Skye. She drowned when I was only two. She was eleven. We were at Loch Ness when it happened, on holiday. You know, of Loch Ness monster fame?”

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

Growing up just outside Melbourne, Australia, Scotty James was more likely to spot the Loch Ness Monster or Big Foot as he was to spot snow.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2025

In our own research and more representative surveys, a higher percentage of respondents tend to say they believe in Bigfoot than other cryptids, including the Yeti, Chupacabra, Loch Ness Monster, and, the Mothman.

From Slate ● Oct. 2, 2024

And so the Loch Ness Monster phenomenon began.

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2023

"Because of Covid, it was postponed for a while, and now we're here - with the Loch Ness Monster," she adds.

From BBC ● May 19, 2023

He felt silly asking, because the only loch he’d ever heard of was Loch Ness, where Nessie the Loch Ness Monster was said to live.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova