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mondo
1[ mon-doh ]
/ mɒnˈdoʊ /
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This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun, plural mon·dos.Zen.
a question to a student for which an immediate answer is demanded, the spontaneity of which is often illuminating.
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
Compare koan.
Origin of mondo
1First 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”
Words nearby mondo
Mondays, monde, mondegreen, Mondeo Man, mondial, mondo, mondo grass, Mond process, Mondrian, Mondrian, Piet, monecious
Other definitions for mondo (2 of 2)
mondo2
Slang.
adverb
very; extremely: mondo cool.
adjective
large; big: a mondo history paper.
Origin of mondo
2First 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”
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023