mondo
1 Americannoun
-
mondos
plural
adverb
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of mondo1
First recorded in 1925–30; from Japanese mondō, earlier mondau “rapid question and answer, catechesis between a rōshi (master) and student,” from Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese wèn “inquire” + dá “reply”
Origin of mondo2
First recorded in 1965–70; from Italian mondo “world,” extracted from the film Mondo Cane ( “A Dog's World” ) (1962) and reinterpreted as an adverb in Italian or pseudo-Italian phrases such as mondo bizarro “very bizarre,” literally, “bizarre world”
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.
And not just any shark, a mondo, super-hangry bull shark that’s able to survive in salt and fresh water.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
"But these dwarf galaxies have just these really mondo star-forming regions," said U-M astronomer Sally Oey, senior author of the study.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 21, 2023
Many species — such as black mondo grass or Japanese sweet flag grass — can survive in cold weather, but they typically can’t withstand the weight of snow, according to Prinzing.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 20, 2022
Another option that might work more quickly is to plant grasses — not turfgrass, but creeping ones such as mondo grass.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 7, 2022
The original of the passage above is as follows: “Deó grande nopillar fantacia; mondo cosi cosi; si estar escrito in testa andar andar; sino acá morir.”
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.
