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

See Examples For:

monastery monasteries

The artwork, of which five panels survive, was commissioned for the monastery of Santa Maria.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

Like many Tibetan men, he served as a monk, spending 12 years at a southern India monastery.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Eleven of those who died have been buried at the monastery, while the bodies of the others have been returned to their hometowns for burial, according to Megabe.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

The historic El Escorial monastery -- a major tourist attraction -- was shrouded in a grayish, smoke-filled mist.

From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026

When I’m finished delivering the telegrams there’s enough time to go to the ancient monastery graveyard where my mother’s relations are buried, the Guilfoyles and the Sheehans, where my mother wants to be buried.

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt

A fire that began Monday in Spain's northeastern Aragon region and has forced the evacuation of 850 people so far is threatening the two monasteries of San Juan de la Pena.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

Thetford, England, population about 25,500, has been mostly quiet since King Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries kneecapped the local economy in 1540.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

In Tibet, monasteries, which were once centres of power, are heavily controlled.

From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2026

He inherited great wealth from his father, and seized more from monasteries after breaking with the Catholic church, yet still ended up short on cash.

From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026

Saint-Denis was one of the greatest monasteries in the world!

From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz