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

Zelensky visited the Monastery of the Caves, a sprawling religious complex on a hill overlooking the Dnipro River, to survey the damage.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 15, 2026

According to the St. Benedict’s Monastery website, the monks also operated a bookstore on the property, which was previously open to the public.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 24, 2026

On Tuesday, Homeboy Industries acquired the Monastery of the Angels, a hidden oasis in the Hollywood Hills where cloistered Dominican nuns lived for nearly 90 years before vacating the site in 2022.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2026

Her campaigns have included saving architectural gem Gorton Monastery from being converted into flats.

From BBC • Jan. 30, 2026

William instantly drops to one knee and says, “I am a brother of the Monastery Saint-Martin. I want only a place to sleep and some food, please.”

From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz