monolith
Syllables: mo·no·lithUK/ˈmɒn.ə.lɪθ//ˈmɑn.əˌlɪθ/
monolith noun: a large, single block of stone which is a natural feature; or a block of stone or other similar material used in architecture and sculpture, especially one carved into a monument in ancient times.
Noun
monolith (plural monoliths)
- A large, single block of stone which is a natural feature; or a block of stone or other similar material used in architecture and sculpture, especially one carved into a monument in ancient times.
- Tomb of Napoleon I. [...] Twelve colossal statues, by [James] Pradier, representing as many victories, stand against the pilasters, facing the tomb, consisting of an immense monolith of porphyry, weighing 135,000 lbs., and brought from Lake Onega in Finland at a cost of 140,000fr.1856, “Tenth Arrondissement. Western Portion.”, in Galignani’s New Paris Guide, for 1856. […], Paris: A[nthony] and W[illiam] Galignani & Co. […], →OCLC, page 355
- Rumour, with her thousand tongues, affirms that the "Prince Albert Memorial" will not take the form of a monolith; we shall not be sorry to learn the fact of some more suitable monument having been decided upon.1862, “The Monthly Mirror of Fact and Rumour”, in The National Magazine, volume XII, London: W. Tweedie […], →OCLC, page 48, column 1
- Antonyms:
- polylith
- Anything massive, uniform, and unmovable, especially a towering and impersonal cultural, political, or social organization or structure.
- It was the setting up of generalizations of the first kind in [Charles J.] Fillmore (1966a, b) and (1968a) that awarded case grammar the role of being, besides abstract syntax, the second crack in the transformational monolith of the late sixties.1980, Hans-Ulrich Boas, “Some Remarks on Case Grammars as Bases for Contrastive Studies”, in Jacek Fisiak, editor, Theoretical Issues in Contrastive Linguistics (Amsterdam Studies in the Theory and...
- But English society is no monolith, and it is a gross simplification to force it into one mould.1984, Joan Thirsk, “Preface”, in The Rural Economy of England (History Series; 25), London: The Hambledon Press, →ISBN, page vi
- Antonyms:
- chimera
- A substrate having many tiny channels that is cast as a single piece, which is used as a stationary phase for chromatography, as a catalytic surface, etc.
- The conference chairman, Alois Jungbauer, Ph.D., professor at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences in Vienna, defined a monolith as a continuous stationary-phase cast as a homogeneous column in a single piece. Monoliths are further characterized by a highly interconnected...2008 August 1, Pete Gagnon, “Monoliths Emerge as Key Purification Methodology”, in Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, volume 28, number 14, Mary Ann Liebert, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the...
- [W]ork performed by Gough et al. looked at the long-term culture (28 days) of craniofacial fibroblasts seeded on to monolith calcium/sodium phosphate glass surfaces.2011, E. A. Abou Neel, V. Salih, J. C. Knowles, “Phosphate-based Glasses”, in Paul Ducheyne, editor, Comprehensive Biomaterials, volumes 1 (Metallic, Ceramic and Polymeric Biomaterials), Amsterdam...
- A dead tree whose height and size have been reduced by breaking off or cutting its branches.
- [page 98] If a stub is to be retained, either for the reasons stated above, or when a tree is to be reduced to a "monolith" [...], unconventional methods of cutting or fracturing (not recommended in BS 3998) may be employed, [...] [page 147] Even dead standing or fallen trees are important, and so...2013 February, “Tree Work: Assessment of Requirements” and “Ancient Trees in the Landscape: Advocacy for Holistic and Landscape-scale Management”, in David Lonsdale, editor, Ancient and Other Veteran...
- Stumps of older fallen trees, known as upright monoliths, have incredible environmental value and can provide a home and food source for insects for decades.2020 August 15, Jess Warren, “New home for remains of oak tree that fell into Earley road”, in The Wokingham Paper, Wokingham, Berkshire: Xn Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 10 Sep...
Verb
monolith (third-person singular simple present monoliths, present participle monolithing, simple past and past participle monolithed)
- To create (something) as, or convert (one or more things) into, a monolith.
- [Fatema] Mernissi constructs a single dominant view of sexuality among Muslims while she purports to be doing sociology or anthropology. [...] [I]s it Mernissi's contention that only Islam is monolithed in stone by an overarching patriarchy?2005, Daniel Martin Varisco, “Beyond the Veil: At Play in the Bed of the Prophet”, in Islam Obscured: The Rhetoric of Anthropological Representation (Contemporary Anthropology of Religion), New York...
- Secondary waste solids such as fines from high-temperature filters and the bag house can be mixed with the bed product and monolithed for disposal.2011, Committee on Waste Forms Technology and Performance, Division of Earth and Life Studies, Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board, National Research Council, “Waste Processing and Waste Form...
- To cast (one or more concrete components) in a single piece with no joints.
- It should be noted that the parapets, also monolithing with the decking slab, contribute an important share to the effective resistance of the work.1927, Ferro-concrete: The Monthly Review of Reinforced Concrete, volume 19, London: London & Norwich Press, →OCLC, page 58
- The main construction operations are the following: [...] 101,000 cu m of pre-fabricated concrete and 89,000 cu m for monolithing pre-fabricated structures.1963, New Horizons: Topmost Dams of the World, Tokyo: Nihon Damu Kyōkai [Japan Dam Association], →OCLC, page 229, column 2
- To reduce the height and size of (a dead tree) by breaking off or cutting its branches.
- Residents who use the park regularly for sports say they are gobsmacked that the council consider cutting the tree down as the only option. But the council have said that public safety is paramount when assessing damaged trees, a branch crashing down could kill someone, and that the tree is not...2018 December 5, Daniel Clark, “Campaigners Tie Themselves to Historic Cowick Barton Oak Tree that Council Says is Dangerous”, in Devon Live, archived from the original on 06 Dec 2018
- The go-ahead has been given to fell 23 Lawson cypress and ‘monolith’ (reduce to their main stems, without branches) four dead alder, which made up part of the woodland off Bickland Water Road.2020 February 19, Emma Ferguson, The Falmouth Packet, Falmouth, Cornwall: Packet Newspapers, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 19 Feb 2020
Proper noun capitalized: Monolith
Monolith
monolith meaning in Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam and Kannada
monolith in Hindi
- large, single block of stone
- एकाश्म ekāśma
monolith in Bengali
- একক বিশাল পাথরের স্তম্ভ
monolith in Malayalam
- standing stone, menhir, sarsen (stone) megalith
- ഒറ്റക്കൽസ്തൂപം, ഒറ്റക്കൽത്തൂൺസ്മാരകം, ഏകശിലാസ്തംഭം, ഏകശിലാപാളി, ഒറ്റക്കൽസ്തംഭം, തൂണ്
monolith in Kannada
- ಅಖಂಡಶಿಲೆ, ಏಕಶಿಲೆ, ಒಂದೇ ಕಲ್ಲಿನ ಸ್ತಂಭ, ಏಕಶಿಲಾಸ್ಮಾರಕ, ಏಕಶಿಲಾಮೂರ್ತಿ, ಒರ್ಕಲ್ಲು
More languagesFewer languages
- monolith in Arabic
- مُونُولِيث mūnūlīṯ
- monolith in Indonesian
- monolit
- monolith in Persian
- مونولیت
Examples of monolith in a sentence
- The practice of using large blocks of stone, either as monoliths or as forming parts of structures, has existed from the earliest times in all parts of the world.1875 August 27, John Hawkshaw, “British Association for the Advancement of Science. Bristol Meeting, August 25, 1875. Inaugural Address of...
- Similar engines are erected in Yorkshire on concrete foundations, with a top layer of monolith or Bramley Fall stone, costing from £800 to £1000.1889, Daniel Kinnear Clark, “Pair of Horizontal Compound Reversing Rail-mill Engines. […]”, in The Steam Engine: A Treatise on Steam...
- It is a great place, very sad and wild, dotted with the dwellings of prehistoric man, strange monoliths and huts and graves.1901 April 2, W. W. Robson, quoting Arthur Conan Doyle, “Introduction”, in Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles: Another...
- Foothold Ruin sits on an isolated sandstone monolith with additional rooms at the base.1987 March, Draft Farmington Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, Farmington, N.M.: Bureau of Land Management, U.S....
Antonyms of monolith
Forms of monolith
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | monoliths |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | monoliths |
| present participle | monolithing |
| past participle | monolithed |
| past | monolithed |
Origin of monolith
The noun is borrowed from French monolithe (“object made from a single block of stone”), from Middle French monolythe (“made from a single block of stone”) (rare), and from their etymon Latin monolithus (“made from a single block of stone”), from Ancient Greek μονόλιθος (monólithos, “made from a single block of stone”), from μονο- (mono-, prefix meaning ‘alone; single’) (from μόνος (mónos, “alone; only, unique”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“little, small”)) + λίθος (líthos, “a stone; stone as a substance”); analysable as mono- + -lith. The English word is cognate with German monolith (“made from a single block of stone”). The verb is derived from the noun.
Words formed from monolith
Questions about monolith
- What does monolith mean?
- Monolith means a large, single block of stone which is a natural feature; or a block of stone or other similar material used in architecture and sculpture, especially one carved into a monument in ancient times.
- What is monolith in Hindi?
- Monolith in Hindi is एकाश्म (ekāśma). See Monolith meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use monolith in a sentence?
- The practice of using large blocks of stone, either as monoliths or as forming parts of structures, has existed from the earliest times in all parts of the world.
- What part of speech is monolith?
- Monolith can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce monolith?
- Monolith is pronounced /ˈmɒn.ə.lɪθ/ (UK).
- What is the plural of monolith?
- The plural of monolith is monoliths.
Words near monolith in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: monolith (page history and authors); Monolith (page history and authors); monolith (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); monolith (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); monolith (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-monolith.ogg.
Cite this entry: “monolith.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/monolith. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.