monastery

American  

[mon-uh-ster-ee] / ˈmɒn əˌstɛr i /

noun

monasteries plural

1. a house or place of residence occupied by a community of persons, especially monks, living in seclusion under religious vows.

   Synonyms:

   lamasery, friary, priory, abbey, cloister

2. the community of persons living in such a place.

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monastery British  

/ ˌmɒnəˈstɪərɪəl, ˈmɒnəstərɪ, -strɪ /

noun

1. the residence of a religious community, esp of monks, living in seclusion from secular society and bound by religious vows

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• monasterial
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• monasteries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of monastery

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Late Latin monastērium, from Late Greek monastḗrion “monk house,” originally, “hermit's cell,” equivalent to monas-, variant stem of monázein “to be alone” + -tērion neuter adjective suffix denoting place; see mono-

Explanation

A monastery is the building where monks live while they’re practicing their religion. Some monasteries are occupied by hundreds of monks, and sometimes only one monk lives there all alone. Christians have a church, Jews have a synagogue, and monks have a monastery, which serves not only as their holy place of worship, but also where they eat and sleep. You’ll use the word mostly when referring to monks, but there are some monasteries for Catholic nuns. The Greek word monastērion means “a place to live alone,” and monks and nuns go to a monastery to focus on their religion in isolation, away from the rest of the world.

Example Sentences

It was an unusual mission for Avraamiy, whose days are usually filled with intoning prayers, counseling his flock and leading the clergymen from the Orthodox Church of Ukraine at the monastery.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 18, 2026

Father Makariy has been based at the 11th-century monastery for more than 20 years, taking daily walks through the grounds in awe of its spiritual weight.

From Barron's • Jun. 15, 2026

Even at the New Camaldoli Hermitage, a Benedictine monastery above Lucia, the road’s reopening and coming summer season have made a difference.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2026

But by the time Kosovo police's special forces took control of the monastery in late afternoon, the surviving group members had somehow slipped away despite being, to all intents and purposes, surrounded.

From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026

One day she took some flat bread sweetened with honey and walked the three-hour journey along the trail to Cho-Lung-Se, where there was a monastery.

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman