mondo
1 Americannoun
plural
mondosadverb
adjective
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.
Here, they planted a drought-resistant mix of California dune grass, mondo grass and poppies alongside the former owners’ birds of paradise, pink camellias and pineapple guava tree.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 2, 2024
"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
Vasari says that, for a villa, this is la più bella sala del mondo.
From The Story of Florence by Gardner, Edmund G.
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.
