noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of monorail
Explanation
A monorail is similar to a train, but instead of traveling on two tracks, it uses just one. If you visit Tokyo or Disney World, you'll probably travel on a monorail. Most monorails are elevated, with trains either moving above a single track or dangling from it, suspended by a wide rail. They generally run on electricity, which flows through the track and keeps the train moving. The earliest monorails were designed in the late 1800s, and this is also when the word developed, from mono, "one" in Greek, and rail, from the Latin regula, "straight stick."
Vocabulary lists containing monorail
mon, mono (one)
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: mono
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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.
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“I don’t think there’s any other option but to move forward with the project,” said Daisuke Hasegawa, a 23-year-old monorail driver in Naha, Okinawa’s capital, referring to the Futenma relocation plan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Authorities on Tuesday rescued nearly 600 people who got stuck on an overcrowded monorail system that stopped mid-journey.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2025
The monorail in 1959 would hint at the possibility of new transit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2025
Theme park operator Flamingo Land wants to build a £40m resort called Lomond Banks, featuring a waterpark, monorail, hotel and restaurants.
From BBC ● May 16, 2025
Lenina, meanw hile, had turned her eyes away and was looking perpendicularly downwards at the monorail station.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
But he has waxed publicly about his admiration for monorails.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2022
Before entrepreneurs in Seattle won fame selling computer software or takeout coffee across the globe, the city’s vision of Century 21 soared on monorails.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 29, 2022
Most U.S. monorails run in short loops around amusement parks or between airport terminals.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 3, 2021
Long winters, home and hearth, wrap up snugly: the decor of the future that’s already with us is not soaring megastructures, holidays on the moon, monorails and geodesic domes.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 19, 2016
The monorails run right into the hotel lobby, every ten minutes.
From Return to Pleasure Island by Cory Doctorow
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