monograph

American  

[mon-uh-graf, -grahf] / ˈmɒn əˌgræf, -ˌgrɑf /

noun

1. a treatise on a particular subject, as a biographical study or study of the works of one artist.

2. a highly detailed and thoroughly documented study or paper written about a limited area of a subject or field of inquiry.

   scholarly monographs on medieval pigments.

3. an account of a single thing or class of things, as of a species of organism.

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verb (used with object)

1. to write a monograph about.

monograph British  

/ mɒˈnɒɡrəfə, -ˌɡræf, ˈmɒnəˌɡrɑːf /

noun

1. a paper, book, or other work concerned with a single subject or aspect of a subject

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verb

1. (tr) to write a monograph on

Other Word Forms

• monographer noun
• monographic adjective
• monographical adjective
• monographically adverb
• monographist noun

Etymology

Origin of monograph

First recorded in 1815–25; mono- + -graph

Explanation

A scholar who is fascinated with a subject and knows a lot about it might write a monograph, or a long, detailed paper on one topic. If your favorite subject in school is the study of insects, you may one day write a monograph on entomology, full of details about beetles and wasps. A monograph is usually researched carefully, with plenty of footnotes along the way. The thesis or dissertation a college student writes as a requirement for getting a degree is one type of monograph. The word comes from the Greek mono, "single," and graph, "something written."

Example Sentences

The expedition that led to this discovery began with a brief note in a 1950s monograph.

From Science Daily • Feb. 23, 2026

She finds herself in good company: Soutine’s friend Faure suggested in his 1929 monograph on the artist that his work contained “the spark of God.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025

He assigned his student a scholarly monograph, “Alienation: Marx’s Conception of Man in a Capitalist Society,” to begin his long education in how leftists think.

From Salon • Jan. 7, 2025

The reviewers recommended that the program “make it clear that the monograph cannot be used to draw any conclusions regarding low fluoride exposure concentrations ... typically associated with drinking-water fluoridation.”

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 22, 2024

Campbell was the one who had written the monograph about the shabby behavior of American prisoners of war.

From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut

Related Words

• dissertation
• essay
• thesis
• treatise