monastery

American  

[mon-uh-ster-ee] / ˈmɒn əˌstɛr i /

noun

plural

monasteries

1. a house or place of residence occupied by a community of persons, especially monks, living in seclusion under religious vows.

   Synonyms:

   lamasery, friary, priory, abbey, cloister

2. the community of persons living in such a place.

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monastery British  

/ ˌmɒnəˈstɪərɪəl, ˈmɒnəstərɪ, -strɪ /

noun

1. the residence of a religious community, esp of monks, living in seclusion from secular society and bound by religious vows

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Other Word Forms

• monasterial adjective

Etymology

Origin of monastery

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Late Latin monastērium, from Late Greek monastḗrion “monk house,” originally, “hermit's cell,” equivalent to monas-, variant stem of monázein “to be alone” + -tērion neuter adjective suffix denoting place; mono-

Explanation

A monastery is the building where monks live while they’re practicing their religion. Some monasteries are occupied by hundreds of monks, and sometimes only one monk lives there all alone. Christians have a church, Jews have a synagogue, and monks have a monastery, which serves not only as their holy place of worship, but also where they eat and sleep. You’ll use the word mostly when referring to monks, but there are some monasteries for Catholic nuns. The Greek word monastērion means “a place to live alone,” and monks and nuns go to a monastery to focus on their religion in isolation, away from the rest of the world.

Example Sentences

The monastery was founded in 1956, when a group of four monks arrived from Massachusetts to set up their new order on the property.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 24, 2026

Over the course of several meetings, including one at an upscale Austrian diner built into a 12th-century monastery, the men said they wanted to feel out the government’s thinking.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026

At this site, about one third of individuals buried in lower status areas had tuberculosis, compared with 12% of those buried in the monastery or church.

From Science Daily • Mar. 13, 2026

That stone now sits in an altar at St Davids Cathedral, built on the site of his original monastery.

From BBC • Mar. 1, 2026

We were standing in front of the old chapel of the monastery.

From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway